Got rid of some things, and immediately after, got a new thing

[Pseudoname]

Hi, this may not be the right place to post this.  If so, can an admin/mod

please direct and/or transfer me to the correct place?

I have used the free Malwarebytes scan numerous times.  This time, something

completely different happened.  I'm hoping someone on this forum can tell me

what it is.

I don't do diagnostics as often as I used to/should, because the need to do so

has decreased greatly over the decades.  I've been using computers since 1980,

when I was running up three flights of stairs with a 12-inch floppy to stick

into a mainframe that took up a room.  My favourite show of all time is Halt

and Catch Fire.  
So I'm no newbie to computers or forums.  However, I'm now 65 yrs old, and

have no RL need to keep up with the latest innovations.  Privacy and security

have been concerns of mine since Day One, long before Facebook and even longer

since before MySpace.  There is just me and one old-ish (just like me :p)

desktop 'puter.  No cell phone.  No cable bill.  No landline.  No car.  Ergo,

this question, posted in this forum.

I ran Malwarebytes the day before yesterday (Dec 30).  It got rid of a bunch

of PUPs.  I've been suspecting all along, since I let OneTab into my life,

that it is either the culprit, or the assigned doer-of-the-deed.

Every time I open Firefox, I was getting not only One-Tab, but along with all the other tabs I had open, there was always an end-tab, which was a lure to go someplace one doesn't want to go.  I have only a few hours a night at home, so I just kept clicking on the 'x' to make it go away.

But I now have 3 days off in a row, so I want to further fix this.

Since I ran Malwarebytes, I no longer have that auto-pop-up site.

The bad news is that I now may have a larger problem.

Whenever I now open Firefox, which I have set to load my windows and tabs from last time, I'm confronted with a list of EVERYTHING THAT'S ON MY C:\\HARD DRIVE in the secondary unwanted/unasked-for Tab, including the stuff I want ONLY my daughter to see when I die.  Can anyone explain this?

 

[AdvancedSetup]

Hello @Pseudoname and

Sorry for the delay. You may just need to reset Firefox back to defaults.

 

Please visit each of the following sites and let's reset all of your browsers back to defaults to prevent unexpected issues.
If you are not using one of the browsers but it is installed then you may want to consider uninstalling it as older versions of some software can pose an increase in the potential for an infection to get in.

Internet Explorer
How to reset Internet Explorer settings

Microsoft Edge
How to Reset Microsoft Edge in Windows 10

Firefox
Click on Help / Troubleshooting Information then click on the Refresh Firefox button.

Chrome
Reset Chrome back to defaults to completely clear out issues with Chrome.

• First, go to >> Google Sync << and sign into your account. Make sure you know your password as this will clear it from the browser.
• Scroll down until you see the   "reset sync" button to clear your data from the server and remove your passphrase.
• Now, close all Chrome windows. Chrome cannot be running for the next step. If needed, print this information or use another browser to read the information.
• Press the Windows key + R at the same time, to bring up the run dialog box.
  • 
• Type in (or copy/paste) the following and press Enter:     %localappdata%\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\

1. Press Ctrl + A to select all the files and folders.
2. Hold down Ctrl + A and click once on the files "Bookmarks" and "Bookmarks.bak". This will unselect them.
3. With all the files selected (except for your Bookmarks), press the Delete key and click Yes to delete the files and folders.
4. Example of all files and folders selected, except Bookmarks

 

Restart your computer now and make sure there are no longer any redirects or other browser issues. 

 

[Pseudoname]

Thank you for responding!  I will try your suggestion for each browser if needed.  I generally only use Firefox but from time to time I also find myself needing Internet Explorer.

May I ask what you think of OneTab first?  I find it very handy, but I'd like to know if that may be what caused the problem in the first place.  I've got several security programs which scan everything on my hard drive weekly, and after this first happened, I ran them manually, but with no related results.  If it was OneTab, I'd rather not set my browsers to default and lose all my settings.  I'd rather get rid of it first and see if the problem persists.

[AdvancedSetup]

I'm sorry but there are different programs and plugins by that name. I have no idea which one you have. We can scan the system and see if any of the scanners think something you have is bad.

 

Please run the following steps and post back the logs as an attachment when ready.

STEP 01

• If you're already running Malwarebytes 3 then open Malwarebytes and check for updates. Then click on the Scan tab and select Threat Scan and click on Start Scan button.
• If you don't have Malwarebytes 3 installed yet please download it from here and install it.
• Once installed then open Malwarebytes and check for updates. Then click on the Scan tab and select Threat Scan and click on Start Scan button.
• Once the scan is completed click on the Export Summary button and save the file as a Text file to your desktop or other location you can find, and attach that log on your next reply.
• If Malwarebytes won't run then please skip to the next step and let me know on your next reply.

STEP 02

Please download AdwCleaner by Malwarebytes and save the file to your Desktop.

• Right-click on the program and select Run as Administrator to start the tool.
• Accept the Terms of use.
• Wait until the database is updated.
• Click Scan.
• When finished, please click Clean.
• Your PC should reboot now if any items were found.
• After reboot, a log file will be opened. Copy its content into your next reply.

 

RESTART THE COMPUTER Before running Step 3

STEP 03
Please download the Farbar Recovery Scan Tool and save it to your desktop.

Note: You need to run the version compatible with your system. You can check here if you're not sure if your computer is 32-bit or 64-bit

• Double-click to run it. When the tool opens, click Yes to disclaimer.
• Press the Scan button.
• It will make a log (FRST.txt) in the same directory the tool is run. Please attach it to your reply.
• The first time the tool is run, it also makes another log (Addition.txt). If you've, run the tool before you need to place a check mark here.
• Please attach the Additions.txt log to your reply as well.

 

Thanks

Ron

 

[Pseudoname]

Thank you very much Ron!  I have from waking up tomorrow morning through Tue sleeping-time off work, and intend to begin tackling it during this time period.

I say "begin" because this morning, Libre Office wouldn't load.

[AdvancedSetup]

Sounds good. Let me know if you need anything else. I'll check back on you later tonight or tomorrow.

Ron

 

[Pseudoname]

On 04/02/2018 at 12:59 PM, AdvancedSetup said:

Sounds good. Let me know if you need anything else. I'll check back on you later tonight or tomorrow.

Ron

 

Thank you very much Ron!  I'm sorry but I haven't yet been able to take a run at this, I've been sick with this flu epidemic since Dec 23 and am now either still waiting for bout #3 to leave my system, or have started bout #4.  I haven't closed this page since your kind response and will get around to following your steps soon (I hope).  I'm just writing now so that you aren't left wondering why I still haven't responded

[AdvancedSetup]

Okay, thank you for the update @Pseudoname

Hope you feel better soon

Ron