Dealing with DeviantArt's Malware and Viruses

I've seen a lot of people complaining about receiving viruses via dA, and it's happened to me many times.  To help all of you out, I've composed a small guide on how you can take care of this problem, and it only requires downloading one free and safe program.

A lot of people I see don't really know what to do in regards to removing them, and either think they got rid of the problem when they actually didn't, or will pay a large amount of money for a problem you can easily solve yourself!

A word of caution: A lot of malware and viruses prevent you from downloading anything, so you need to make sure you have this program before you are infected.

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.CONTENTS.

1. Common myths about viruses
2. What is a virus, and what is spyware?
3. How to remove viruses and other malware
4. Viruses I have encountered on dA
5. In Closing

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1. COMMON MYTHS ABOUT VIRUSES

A virus is NOT removed simply because you closed the ad/fake warning/etc that popped up, nor it it removed because you closed the process in task manager that it is creating.

While doing so might get rid of annoying pop-ups, it does not get rid of the virus.  Some viruses actually get worse if you close the pop-ups.

In addition, closing the process under Task Manager will get rid of the process temporarily; however, processes are created by files, and this method only gets rid of the process, not the files.


Just because your virus scan program doesn't pick anything up, DOES NOT mean there's nothing there.

Most viruses now are easily able to hide from virus scanning programs.  In addition, virus scan programs are not very good at detecting adware and spyware.


Spyware and adware are just as dangerous, if not more so than viruses by themselves.

Please be wary of this.  If you don't keep up with keeping your computer clean of spyware, important files can be destroyed, re-written, and more viruses can get into your system more easily.


Viruses DO NOT come in just through advertisements on DeviantArt.

Spyware and viruses can also easily attach themselves to cookies, which essentially are a tag that a website gives your computer so it can recognize you later.

More cookies and potentially dangerous files get into your computer when you look at images, as opposed to a page full of text.  

Obviously there are a lot of images on DeviantArt, which makes it easier for these viruses to become commonplace here.


If someone warns you that "so-and-so" will give you a virus, it's likely not true.

Corrupt cookies and files getting in to dA's system is a flaw in dA's security system.  It is unlikely that a virus you receive was purposely placed there by whomever's page you were on when you received it, and it might not necessarily happen every time you go to that page.  This could happen to ANYONE.

PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU ARE WARY OF THIS, AND BE COURTEOUS.  Do not incessantly  report the Deviant and warn your friends that this is a bad Deviant.

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2. WHAT IS A VIRUS, AND WHAT IS SPYWARE?

There is often some confusion among these terms.  Most people believe that a virus is more dangerous than spyware.  This isn't necessarily true.  I will go over some of the main terms of the most common types.

Virus:  A computer virus is essentially a program that someone has created to infect a computer.  It can copy itself and overload the system.  Actual viruses are rare; the common things that people refer to as viruses (i.e. Trojans) are actually a type of Malware.

Malware: Malware is a very broad range that includes the computer viruses, as well as things like Trojans, adware, spyware, rogueware, worms, etc.  Just because your computer doesn't tell you that you have any Malware doesn't necessarily mean it's true.  Many types of Malware go unnoticed.

Trojans: Think of the Trojan horses; this is essentially a way for other people to get into your system.  There isn't always another person on the other side of the trojan, but these generally serve as a gateway for malicious people or files to get in.  These seem to be one of the most common files that get onto a computer system.

Worms: These are more rare, but more dangerous.  Worms don't need users to trigger them to spread; they can self-replicate, get into your files, and corrupt them.  They can also easily travel across networks to infect other computers, without needing to attach to a program or file.  These are dangerous, and almost always cause damage to a network.  They're very good at making your internet connection or certain websites very slow, most likely because they are consuming bandwidth.

Spyware: Spyware are programs that can be installed on computers with or without the user's knowledge.  A very common example of this is through a fake Windows security warning about how your computer is "not protected".  If you click on the link, a screen will pop up asking for personal information and a method of payment.  Spyware is dangerous because it collects personal information, such as passwords, credit card numbers, web browsing activity, etc.  If you use the internet often to check your bank or to pay with a credit card, spyware is much more dangerous to you than a virus that will destroy your computer; people will be able to access this information.

Adware: This very annoying program often makes a large number of advertisements pop up on your screen, whether you're doing something or not.  These can come onto your computer just from downloading something online, such as AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, and more.  They will greatly slow down your computer.

Rogueware: This seems to be the newest kind of Malware, and perhaps the most dangerous because it was very difficult to get rid of.  My experiences with rogueware involved an infection in my Windows security files; the most common type of rogueware right now is Internet Security 2010.  If something pops up mentioning ANYTHING in regards to that, do NOT give out ANY information.  It is FAKE, and will try and do whatever it can to get you to believe that it is actually Windows.  My experiences with this rogueware actually brought several trojans and worms onto my computer in just a matter of seconds, that could have done a lot of damage if I didn't know to look for them.

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3. HOW TO REMOVE VIRUSES AND OTHER MALWARE

Do not think that just because you have AVG, Norton, McAfee, etc., that you are perfectly covered.  This isn't true.  These programs specialize in most mainstream types of Malware, such as Trojans, but can't pick up on most adware/spyware/rogueware/etc.  Also, the main virus programs are usually recognized by most malware, and as such, the malware can hide from it.

The number one tool right now to get rid of Malware is called Malwarebyes' Anti-Malware.  If you don't believe me, you can search various places and hear other people tell you the same thing.

THIS IS A SAFE PROGRAM.  I KNOW SOME PEOPLE ARE WARY TO DOWNLOAD NEW PROGRAMS, BUT THIS IS 100% SAFE, AND THE BEST WAY TO GET RID OF MALWARE AND VIRUSES.

The official MBAM website:
www.malwarebytes.org/

Please download this free program and update it as soon as you download it; the version you download might not necessarily be the latest version.

As soon as you download and update it, I recommend that you perform a quick scan.  This program is designed so that in the quick scan, it will check the most commonly targeted files.

If it comes back with infected files, it will quarantine them.  Make sure that you actually delete the files.  It may tell you to restart to complete the process of deleting the files.  If it does, restart, and then do the quick scan again just to make sure you got rid of everything.

If the quick scan comes back without finding anything, you likely don't have anything!  Feel free to run a full scan anyway if you want to be completely sure, whether or not it finds anything.

It's also a good idea to rename the .exe file.  Some viruses won't allow you to open MBAM right away, but if you change the name of it to something else, it will fool the malware.  

It doesn't matter what you rename it to, so long as you make sure you're changing the name in the original mbam.exe, located in the Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware folder in Program files.  After you rename it, make sure to redo your shortcuts on the desktop, or wherever, otherwise the shortcuts won't be able to locate the original file because its name was changed.

I've never run into one of these problems on dA before, but I have on other sites, and they can be tricky.  If you know you have a problem and it's not letting you open MBAM, try renaming the file.

If that still doesn't work, there's another program you can try.  This program is called Rkill.com.

You can find it here: download.bleepingcomputer.com/…

Rkill was designed to stop processes that are dangerous to your computer; processes caused by some types of Malware.  Sometimes, a process will stay open that will keep you from being able to open certain programs, such as an internet browser, or a virus scan program, or MBAM, etc.  All you do is double click the file when it downloads, and wait until it tells you it's finished - it might take a minute.  While these types of Malware are not as common, they will prevent you from downloading anything, so you need to make sure to download everything BEFORE you get infected.  Just leave everything in a folder on your desktop if you want to.


WHEN TO SCAN:

You should periodically quick scan your computer, just as you might periodically scan with a program like McAfee or AVG.

If a window pops up talking about Windows Defender, any sort of Windows Security download, Internet Security 2010, etc., you should do a quick scan.

If another virus scan program on your computer tells you that it's found a virus, quick scan just to make sure nothing else came with the virus.


WHEN YOU ARE FINISHED:

MAKE SURE TO MAKE A RESTORE POINT WHEN YOU ARE 100% SURE THE VIRUS IS GONE.  This is very important.  The last thing you want to do if something goes wrong in the future is restore back to a time when there was a virus or malware on your computer.

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4. VIRUSES I HAVE ENCOUNTERED ON DA

The most common way I realize my computer has been infected when I'm on dA is through the fake Windows Security warnings that pop up.  Usually they tell you that your computer has been infected, and they have a fake in progress scanning bar.  When that bar completes to 100%, a list of random files comes up that the fake advertisement claims are viruses.

This has happened to me all over dA, not just on any particular person's page.  It also happens to me more often when I'm viewing someone's gallery images.


Trojans:
This is by far the most common thing I pick up on dA.  Usually it's just a virus or two by itself.  Sometimes my computer's virus scan program, McAfee, picks up on it.  I usually run MBAM anyway afterward.

Spyware:
This always comes with a trojan or two.  MBAM takes care of it.

Worms:
These nasty things got into my computer via the rogueware.  I've never had a problem with worms on dA before until I picked up the rogueware.

Rogueware:
This is the latest that happened to me just a few days ago; the Internet Security 2010.  It took a very long time to get rid of it, but MBAM was eventually able to take care of the problem.  This particular dangerous infection can only be taken care of right now via MBAM.  Please keep that in mind.

In order to get rid of the rogueware, I had to download the program I mentioned earlier, Rkill.com.


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5. IN CLOSING


PLEASE DOWNLOAD MALWAREBYTES' ANTI-MALWARE (MBAM).


I really can't stress enough how important it is to have MBAM, especially before you are infected.  Rkill.com is also useful for dealing with redirecting viruses, or ones that won't allow you to open up MBAM even after you rename it.

I would suggest downloading both if you want to be completely prepared, but feel free to just download MBAM.

I have a lot of experience in dealing with various types of malware and viruses.  I hope this basic guide can help you all.

Please feel free to note me if you have any questions or need any help, and I'll do what I can.