spc3rd
Williamsburg,#2Consumer Comment
Thu, January 19, 2012
There are a few things you should know.
First, McAfee is a legitimate security software provider. There are at least two Internet Service Providers I know of (including my own) which provide McAfee AV protection free to their customers.
I don't know from what site you acquired McAfee, but there is the possibility you could have downloaded a corrupted version of the software. I learned the hard way to always download programs from reputable sites only.
Secondly, your description of the repeated warning messages that your computer's security was down...is what is referred to as a fake antimalware infection. These are programs which will bombard you with all sorts of "scareware" type warning messages, with the sole purpose of scaring you into believing your system is at risk and getting you to purchase their so-called fix. The money you gave them did NOT resolve the problem which THEY infected your system with either!
I strongly suggest you cancel whatever credit card you provided to those people! Otherwise, you are at risk of finding even more unauthorized charges made to your account.
Thirdly, your computer is likely STILL INFECTED with that fake anti-malware program. I would also strongly suggest you visit the bleepingcomputer.com website and make a post in the sub-forum entitled, "Am I Infected." Describe the symptoms of your infection (as you did here). The volunteers there are typically quite busy trying to help everyone, so be patient. If you haven't received a response to your post after 3 days, follow the instructions at the top of the sub-forum page on how to post a link to your topic.
There are also FREE antimalware programs available to help you remove malware infections, such as , Malwarebytes and SuperAntispyware. There are also PAID versions of both as well. The paid versions have real-time scanning available, which are quite effective at blocking incoming access from malicious websites/IP addresses, as well as, blocking outgoing access from your computer to malicious websites/IP addresses. NOTE: These programs are NOT intented to replace or be an antivirus program! You will still need to acquire a good antivirus program to adequately protect your computer. An antimalware program is designed to complement your AV software.
(There are also a number of good and FREE AV programs, such as, Avast! out there).
NOTE: Some free antivirus programs just provide the AV protection. You will still need to have a firewall. Either Microsoft's Windows Firewall (if using a Microsoft OS), a 3rd party free or paid firewall program, or get an antivirus program which also has a firewall with it. Not having an antivirus program and firewall is an open invitation to malware infections!
If you download either of the aforementiioned antimalware programs, make sure to update the database first, then you can run a full scan with it. If either program finds malware present, it will quarantine the item until the scan finishes. You can then look in the quarantine log (in Malwarebytes) to see what was found and then have Malwarebytes remove any infected items. Depending on how many files you have on your system, the scan can take 45 minutes or longer.
In SuperAntispyware, when the scan finishes, it will open a new box on your screen showing how many infections (and any tracking cookies) were found. Follow the instructions shown to remove/quarantine the infections, including REBOOTING if asked to - VERY IMPORTANT to do so!
I have learned that after being infected, there are often times, remnants of an infection left...even after the active infection has been cleared up. For this reason, I again strongly suggest you post a request for help in the aforementioned forum. You can also post in the Malwarebytes Forums as well. There are many experienced and helpful people there who can help you out and it doesn't cost a penny either!
Hope this helps!