Internet Security Alert Code...issue

Every once in a while I get a message on Google Chrome (usually while I'm in yahoo mail) that takes over the entire screen in a bright red background with the following message:

Internet Security Alert Code: ...some numbers I can't see
followed by a phone number to call (which I don't)

I have Windows Defender and Malwarebytes installed, none of which has prevented this - which I'm pretty sure is malware - from happening.

I ran Malwarebytes and it didn't find anything.

When you search on line for this problem there are quite a few methods to get rid of it. One way was to put the following code (for Windows 10) in:

%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Google\ and then delete the Chrome folder.

I didn't do the above because I'm not sure that it's such a great idea.

I am unable to exit out of the Chrome browser when this message occurs and most times I either have to restart or shut down my PC and then restart it.

It hasn't yet happened on my laptop....yet.

Robert

Your Chrome browser is what is infected. Have you tried using another browser such as Firefox or Edge> I'm up in NW Iowa for a funeral right now, so I will let Jenny help you with this one.

I usually check what they have to say at Bleeping Computer
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/virus-removal/remove-the-internet-security-alert-tech-support-scam

The purpose of the RKill utility they have a download for is to close malware that is able to hide from antivirus, or prevent itself from being deleted while the malware is running. Sometimes it's necessary to close malware before you can really get rid of it.

This site also seems to have some tips
https://www.pcrisk.com/removal-guides/11802-internet-security-alert-scam

Check what they say about removing rogue extensions.


That will delete your user profile. If that's what's infected, deleting it will help.

Sometimes running malwarebytes in safe mode will work. That way he malware doesn't get loaded to be able to block malwarebytes.

Thanks for all the good advice. As usual members of this forum always come through.
I'll let you know how I make out.

Draclvr - sorry to hear about the funeral - travel safe.

Robert

I went to both sites referenced by Jenny100 and went through all their steps but none of the utilities found any errors. I looked at the extensions mentioned and have four in Chrome but I really don't know if any of them are "rogue" extensions.



The reason I went through the suggestions was that I got the same "alert" screen this morning.

One of the utilities recommended was 'Secunia PSI' which listed a few updates required - Windows update - which wasn't really needed; Google Chrome - which was and something called 'cURL' which I had no idea how to update and don't know if it was needed.

I'll wait to see if the problem happens again and go from there because right now I have no idea what to do.

I am running Malwarebytes Premiun which has yet to find any problems.

Robert

I would recommend using a different browser. I don't think it's your computer that's infected... just Chrome. Try Edge that comes with Windows 10 or Firefox. If you don't get the warning with them, then you will know it's Chrome.

Actually the warning always comes up in the Yahoo mail window. So, if I do change browsers and the warning still occurs in the Yahoo window that obviously should be where the problem is, I would think.

The frustrating part of this is that I have two different problems - one on my laptop and one on my desktop and I'm unable to find a fix for either one.

Mac anyone??????????????

Robert

Have you tried any adblockers like uBlock Origin or AdBlock Plus?
They block a lot of malicious ads.

For Firefox you can go to
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/
and search for them.

I think there are Chrome versions too, but you'll have to Google those yourself.

Well, I tried Edge with the same result.

More and more I think it has something to do with Yahoo mail because each time, no matter which browser I've used, it always happens in the Yahoo mail window.

I'm a little disappointed that, whatever is happening, isn't being picked up by Malwarebytes.

So what software might? Anyone have any thoughts?

Thanks,

Robert

I'm not getting very far clearing up the subject problem.

I received an email from Spectrum, my cable company, with an offer to install at no charge McAfee Security
Suite but haven't done it yet because McAfee is not a very popular program to use for many reasons. I know
because some years ago I did use McAfee and had some problems with my PC which I believe were directly related
to McAfee.

BUT I am getting desperate and may just bite the bullet and give it a try to get rid of the Security Alert
Code error...

Any thoughts are ideas of something better to use.

Thanks again.

Robert

Draclvr will have to help you. Draclvr has more recent experience with cleaning malware off computers.

At this point I'd say to either reinstall Windows or take the computer to a repair shop. There are other things that could be tried, but they are more difficult than reinstalling Windows and have less chance of success (which is why repair shops often recommend reinstalling Windows for stubborn infections).

You said when you first got Malwarebytes to install, it found over 1,000 problems. There is always a chance, you have an infection in your boot file. I have run into this a couple of times and it was very hard to get rid of. I have also recommended that people simply stop using Yahoo as I've probably had more problems with their email and their home page than any other website.

I agree with Jenny... at this point, I would either reinstall Windows or take the computer to a repair shop.

Actually those 1,000 problems happened on my laptop when I installed Malwarebytes to try to fix a Windows 10 update problem.

My desktop, where I'm having this Security Alert problem, had zero problems found when I ran Malwarebytes.

As you can imagine changing my email from Yahoo, which is my main email, would pose some problems but it is
something to consider. But then it becomes another problem that wasn't fixed on my computer - which can be
frustrating.

I'm still wondering what you think - good or bad - about taking advantage of the Spectrum offer to install
McAfee Security Suite.

If I do reinstall Windows 10 - and I do have the disk that came with the PC - is there anything I should be
aware of to do or not do during the installation or is it pretty straight forward?

Thanks,

Robert

My advice would be to turn down the McAfee Security Suite. There are much better options out there...

Is the disk just a restore disk or is it the full Windows 10 operating system?

McAfee , to put it bluntly , sucks out loud ! If you install another antivirus , Avast . Avast can do a boot scan , & their detection rates are consistently high . Windows Defender , while improving , doesn't perform as well as Avast . I think Drac is correct , & that this is a piece of malware/virus that has buried itself in the boot files , & for whatever reason , does nothing until you decide to open your email . Before doing a boot scan , I would , at least temporarily , disable Windows Defender , & turn off/delete any system restore points . I say that , because some viruses & malware like to "reside" in system restore . A switch from Yahoo email would probably be a good idea as well . As for a Windows reinstall , if you can , back up any important files (documents , pictures,etc.)beforehand . The process is pretty straightforward .

Back up anything you want to keep before reinstalling Windows. Don't try to "install over" a previous infected installation. You want to start clean.

Agree 1000%

Double agree 1000%!!

But again, is this a Windows 10 operating system disk or a restore disc? It will make a difference on how you approach this if you decide to do it.

"If I do reinstall Windows 10 - and I do have the disk that came with the PC - is there anything I should be
aware of to do or not do during the installation or is it pretty straight forward?"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1).Backup documents, favorites, and pictures on flash drives and you will be happy.
2).Unplug all external stuff except mouse, modem, and keyboard, then plug them back in one at a time after windows is done.
3).Have windows code ready in case you are asked for it.

It's a full Windows 10 installation disk.

The odd thing is, and I could be wrong on this, but the problem pops up even though I'm not in the
process of opening or looking at mail. It's almost as if - and I know this sounds strange - that
something just randomly interjects itself into Yahoo mail.

I'm going to see if I can get a better handle on that as that might be a clue...or not as to what is
causing this problem.

Robert

When I Google for
Yahoo Mail Internet Security Alert Code:

I find several forum posts from people getting the "Internet Security Alert Code:" only on Yahoo and no other website they visit.

Here are a couple of examples
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1198782

https://forums.yahoo.net/t5/Account-security/Security-Alert-Virus/td-p/311889
https://forums.yahoo.net/t5/Account-security/Security-Alert-Virus/td-p/311889/page/2

Did you try using an adblocker like AdBlock Plus or uBlock Origin like I suggested?

One person said uBlock Origin worked better than AdBlock Plus for this problem.

I assumed you'd tried this, but if you haven't it's the first thing to try.

If Yahoo is running infected javascript ads, as many people suspect (and which has happened repeatedly in the past), reinstalling Windows is not going to help you.

I also assumed Robert had tried using an adblocker like Adblock Plus as you suggested earlier. As I said earlier, just staying away from Yahoo is something I've implemented for one person.

I just activated AdBlock Plus in Chrome - let's see what happens.

If that doesn't fix the problem I'll try uBlock Origin. I like to try one attempted fix
at a time.

The reason I hesitated installing either of the utilities was that they both indicated they could
make some changes to web sites, so we'll see.

Robert

Yes, they do make changes to websites! They stop their ads and scripts from popping up! I love AdBlock Plus.

Privacy Badger also . Good combo , those two .

Have you ever heard of-Advanced SystemCare Pro 11?
If so is it good?

I used to hear nightmare stories about Advanced SystemCare... It may have been improved since then.

The Malware Response Team at Bleeping Computer doesn't think much of it...

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/...od-or-not-good/

Makes two of us , the horror stories . Too many other pieces of software available , both free & paid , that do a much better job .

My mom is having this problem happen on her computer. It also pops up when accessing yahoo home page from time to time. I install ad-aware, but maybe I will try removing that and using ublock origins instead. Or can both be used at same time? I will have to apologize to her, as I kept thinking she was clicking on a link that led to the site hosting this scam. Now it looks like it is a weird yahoo thing.

Lakerz,

I installed AdBlock Plus in Chrome about five days ago and haven't had another problem - yet.

I don't know if this would help but I would think it's worth a try. Hopefully I won't have the
problem come back but before I installed AdBlock I would get the Security Alert code problem just about
every day and, as I said, I haven't had any problems for five days - fingers crossed.

Robert

Ad-Aware is an antivirus/anti-malware program.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaware

Ad-Aware is not an ad-blocker the way AdBlock Plus and uBlock Origin are.

So yes you can use both Ad-Aware and an adblocker like AdBlock Plus or uBlock Origin.

Let us know if this helps your mom, lakerz... I just stay away from anything Yahoo, but I do use uBlock Origin too.

Argh, I meant to say I put AdBlock Plus on my mom's PC for various browsers (she mostly just uses Firefox but sometimes also IE). As an aside, I do have a few anti-spyware stuff installed too like Search&Destroy.

So can one have both AdBlock Plus *and* UBlock Origins at the same time? I have not experimented with this yet. Since that last time she has not had that malware page show up again.

I really don't know! Experiment with us and let us know...

That will help for malware that tries to install on your computer, but won't do anything for phishing ads like the ones at Yahoo. Those have to be blocked by the browser or a browser add-on. Blocking the IP numbers of the ad network using block lists inside your router is another option, but is probably beyond the capability of most people.


I think you can have both, but since they use the same (or similar) block lists, it doesn't really help to have both.

Just an update.

Since I installed AdBlock Plus on Google Chrome I haven't had any further Security Alert problems
on Yahoo mail - that was about two weeks ago.

This is the longest I've gone without an error since it started - hopefully the problem is resolved.

Robert

Good news!!!