Need Help With Parents Constantly Getting Viruses! (& Prevention)

[David Ralph]

So my mom and dad share a laptop (I bought my mom a computer, but I can't give it to her until her birthday) and my mom is tech-savvy enough to avoid viruses and navigate throughout windows 10. My dad on the other hand could not be more opposite, he likes to watch youtube videos, but also in some cases look for parts for things like our cars online. Seems like a simple thing. But some how he managed to get some weird pop-up ad/possible virus called, "Truthfinder," I believe. And I can't make any direct correlation, but once I was told about this, I was also told about the computer blue-screening.

I've looked to uninstall truthfinder through the control panel, but was unsuccessful in finding it there. I did both a quick and full scan of the computer with Windows Defender (it found nothing) and I'm also now downloading malwarebytes to run a scan.

IMPORTANT NOTE: About 2-4 months ago at this point I bought a brand new hard drive to replace the one that went bad in the laptop from dad dropping it, so I really don't think it could be any sort of hard drive failure because he is very careful with it now after I explained how expensive it can be.

IMPORTANT NOTE: I have my personal computer in the same house as the laptop, but we don't share a network or even connect to the same internet connection, yet I have been seeing some ads on pages saying something like, "(Dad's name) information will surprise you!" and it says truthfinder in the ad. obviously i'm not going to click on that ad, but I am curious how it know that I am related to him.

So I have a few questions...

1) How can I get 'truthfinder' off of the computer?

2) Anymore free ways to prevent future viruses while not restricting myself or my mom to any part of the computer?

3) How does truthfinder know that I'm related to my dad even though we don't even connect to the internet through the same connection?

I know this is a very lengthy question and problem, but thank you to everyone for caring enough to read through it! All help is appreciated very much!

 

[Pokererere1]

I have no clue what 'truthfinder' is but I don't think it is a virus. It could be an extension or something. I found this on reddit about it. Please read the comments on it. (https://www.reddit.com/r/antivirus/comments/6cnk77/does_anybody_have_any_experience_with/)

However, an easy way to avoid viruses would be something like uBlock Origin (https://www.ublock.org/). It has been blocking ads/pop-ups and even has a built in tool to stay away from malware. I currently have been using it at work and it's been doing me better then AdBlock Plus (which is what I use at home). If you want to be even more safe, you could get a SciptBlock extension. However, usually it makes most websites nearly broken so running uBlock would be easier.

 

[captaincharisma]

if they keep getting viruses and all they use the computer for is to go on the web and check e-mail then i would look into a program like fartronics deep freeze where they can get as many viruses as they can but a restart will put the computer back to normal. that or buy a virus scanner like norton

 

[dark_lord69]

"How can I get 'truthfinder' off of the computer?"
I would try Malwarebytes as you said you are downloading...

"Anymore free ways to prevent future viruses while not restricting myself or my mom to any part of the computer?"
Tell your dad not to look at porn, download wallpapers and don't click on advertisements.

 

[mdd1963]

For simple youtube, surfing and secure browsing, and email, they sound like prime Linux MInt17/18 candidates!

 

[Mowgli2909]

Download Malwarebytes Chameleon Freeware and run it. It's meant to install, start or update Malwarebytes on a PC that's already infected, see "http://www.thewindowsclub.com/chameleon-helps-run-malwarebytes-antimalware-infected-system". Install a good antivirus, not freeware, share the cost by buying one for use one 3 PCs. If all else fails I'd secure wipe using 0's and 1's if the drive is HDD or download manufacturers secure erase tool and wipe using that if SSD. Good luck!

 

[JoshRoss]

Alright, so before the removal solutions, I would like to express my condolences for what I am about to say. You are GOING TO NEED TO, educate your father as to what malware and viruses are. It is common knowledge, that no matter how many anti-virus or anti-malware solutions you might have, the best way to avoid everything, is to be super aware of what you are doing. A very simple thing you can ask him to do is before stepping away from PC, to run anti-malware scan and maybe even anti-virus quick scan. Install some form of Adblock in his browser to prevent ad spread malware. As for the links, You could try sandboxing the browser (Browser sandbox software), that way every time he closes the browser, it resets to default configured settings. But please, attempt to educate about threats, it is essential if he continues using the internet.

And now for the cleanup instructions:

1. Restart your PC in “Safe mode with networking”
2. Remove any unrecognized plugins from chrome.
3. Check the Programs and features and see if there are any new recently installed programs that you don’t recognize. If there are, remove them.
4. Scan the PC with anti-malware software, something like Hitman Pro and Malwarebytes. Both are tested to work well against this malware.
5. Scan your PC with anti-virus of your choice.
6. Clean up your registries using CCleaner
7. Restart your PC in normal mode and do an additional scan to confirm that the malware is gone.

That should solve the issues regarding the "truthfinder". And how does it know you are related? Lucky guess, or maybe he had to input the information somewhere himself before the malware was downloaded to extract additional information. Who knows, it might remain a mystery. Good luck and hopefully, this helps you resolve the issue!