Safari locked out by Malicious Virus Attack...

I even called them on the phone! At first, sounded legit, but then they started talking about warranty, etc.

I got on my iPad, googled it, and got here. I told the guys, thanks/bye, and cleared things up.

thanks guys!

I am a new user (i bought the laptop 2 days ago) and few mins ago this thing pop up on my screen!

I called the number on my screen and was an indian guy try to tell me what to do!!!! so after few mins he was like i will have to let a technician do it for u because u have a lot of viruses mam and is impossible to fix it that simple. We ll have to charge u 180+ dollars.

I was like wait WHAT? no no no i will have to discuss about it with my husband sir! thats a lot of money and its impossible to get so many many virus for just surfing on Pinterest. He told me that if i go to the mac store they will still have to charge me! i was like is ok sir i will call u back when i come in a decision with my husband. AND HE HANG UP ON ME!!

thank God i found this post!!!

Also, download and run the Apple recommended, free application called Adware Medic. It can help!

I tried the steps as described but the error message came back. Do I need to download the Adware Medic to get rid of the virus?

It certainly can't hurt. Try it.

Hello

Same thing happened to me today - of course it's a scam. If this happens to you - DO NOT CALL- DO NOT GO TO WEBPAGE!! Instead, force quit Safari or restart your computer.

I have my Safari prefs set to purge history on quitting - so I did the force quit Safari. When I did that the popup disappeared and Safari then started normally.

I also started a virus scan with Sophos Antivirus, free antivirus software www.sophos.com. My Safari extensions are turned off just in case it tried to establish an extension. Don't forget to search your cookies occasionally for stuff like this and delete it. Safari Preferences - Security - Cookies and other website data - Details button. Opens a window with all the cookies in Safari - there's lot of them - delete the ones you don't recognize - worst that can happen is that it takes longer for websites to load and you get another cookie.

Opened firefox and entered the address - DO NOT DO THIS AT HOME - http://mac-protecton - (note the screwy spelling) into firefox and there was no webpage. No popup either. Scam confirmed.

So - Don't Panic - Force Quit safari - keystrokes or click on desktop, Apple menu, Force Quit, SAfari, Force quit. Or - restart the computer by holding the power switch or key until restart happens.

No reason to panic - easily taken care of. DO NOT CALL OR E-MAIL THEM!! They can't access your computer until you give permission - DON'T give permission.

Happy Day All!! - Americans - Happy Independence Day!! The USA is 216 Years Old on July 4. Canadians - happy Belated Canada Day!!

OMG ..... I GOT TRAPPED BY THEM.... feel so stupid.......

So here is what happened in the end of the story:

I gave them my credit card info before realizing that it is a scam....

After they charged my card, I told them that I would like to cancel this service and get refund back, but they told me they can only give me $90 back (total charge is $150).....

I thought that it was very unreasonable and I argued with them a bit but still accept it.

So the guy told me he will have to transfer to their billing department and it will take an hour long. Would I still want to wait?... (I take that)

After a while, he told me.... oh they cannot refund me today..... (!!!!!! I was so mad at that point!!!!!!)

I told them I will call my credit card company.

They said "I will see you at court" ?!!!! Are they serious?!!

Can you guys help me on this??

I called boa and they said i will have to call the boa billing/dispute on Monday.

I am not sure if I can get my money back because I did provide them my info and consented them to charge my card...

However, I totally feel that this is a trap and I am just too naive to realize that earlier....

What should I do ><!!!.... should have seen this post earlier 😟

Any comment would help !

Just go to the (or call) the billing department of BOA. they will refund the charge and file a claim on your behalf. I would then block any charges from them on your account. It's actually pretty easy to get your money back from them.

Thanks dazeja for the response. I called the billing department of BOA and they said they will take care of it 🙂. I also asked for a new credit card number.

This scared me to death when it popped up on my computer!

So glad I found these helpful instructions when I did, because I don't know what I would have done. I did end up calling the number that popped up (it was two numbers, the first one was: 1-844-685-4476, and after I hung up the VERY Indian man called me again from this number: 202-923-2589 [which is a DC number]). Part of the reason I hung up was because I couldn't understand the person I was speaking to. Another reason was the man told me his name, he didn't identify himself with Apple. And when I've worked with Apple in the past, they are very proud to be identified with Apple.

I'm very thankful for these instructions and I was able to get my Safari working correctly again!

Thanks so much fixed it right away!

This totally worked - thank you!

Before realizing this was a scam I called the number, the woman said that she would have to share my screen and I asked her if this was the extra warranty I paid $300 dollars for (I just bought my laptop) and she became very angry and told me to hold. As soon as she put me on hold I hung up. Will she still be able to be inside my computer? I didn't enter any pin codes or anything like that. I didn't give her the chance to give me a pin code or ask for my credit card info. Am I safe?

I'm kicking myself about it, but I just did the same thing as you today! I wish I had seen this thread earlier, but the guy on the phone was very persistent and wouldn't let me get off the call!

I ended up giving them my credit card info (so naive), but called back and thee said they'd give me a full refund. Somehow, don't buy it and I'm afraid my credit card information has been compromised and I'm nervous about the access they had to my computer before.

I wanted to know what ended up happening in your case? Any suspicious activity with your computer after that? Or fraudulent charges on your credit card? PLEASE let me know, I'm freaking out...

Thanks!

I am surprised they are willing to give you the full refund back! I ended up canceling my old credit and get a new one. Everything seems to work normally now after downloading some anti-virus software.