Your Flash Player for windows might be out of date! Update the latest version for better perfomance. Your update is ready Once again, while your Flash Player installation may in fact be outdated, the site has no way of knowing this. This is just a scam to try and trick you into download the fake update so that the scammers can install further adware and unwanted programs on your computer. Thankfully, these scams can be closed by simply opening Windows Task Manager and ending the browser process.
It is important, though, that if you end the browser process that you do not reopen previously closed sites if prompted by the browser when you start it again as this will just reopen the scam. On the other hand, if you are constantly seeing these types of fake update popups, tech support scams, or pages opening by themselves, then it may be possible that you are infected with an adware or other unwanted program that are displaying them. Once again, do not worry as it is quite easy to remove these infections if you follow the guide below.
Why am I Seeing these Fake Flash Update PopUps in my Browser? The Fake Outdated Flash scam is shown through advertisements that redirect you to sites that display this scam.
Apr 1, 2019 - “Flash Player Update!” is a scam message that relies on the popular media viewing platform. Flash Player Update! Is a fraudulent pop-up that claims that Adobe Flash Updates need to be downloaded. These fake alerts are often triggered by adware.
These advertisements can be displayed by installed adware programs or through less than reputable sites that are displaying them to generate advertising revenue. For the most part, if you see a browser based scam like this, then you can simply close the browser and start it again. On the other hand, if you are continuously seeing scams with alerts like 'Outdated Flash Player' or 'Flash Player Update Available', then you should scan your computer for adware and remove anything that is found.
To close The Fake Flash Player Update PopUp, you need to terminate the process for the browser that is currently displaying the browser based tech support scam. To do this we will use the Windows Task Manager. To open the task manager, press the Ctrl, Alt, and Delete keys at the same time to bring up the Windows security screen shown below. At the above screen, click on the Task Manager option to start the Windows Task Manager.
When Task Manager is started you will be in the Applications section as shown below. At this point you should click on the Processes tab. You will now be at a screen that shows the running processes on your computer. Click on the button labeled Show processes from all users as shown in the image below.
Then scroll through the list till you see your web browser's process and left-click on it once so it becomes highlighted. Once you have selected the browser's process, click on the End Process button as shown by the red arrow in the picture above. If you are unsure of the process name to close, please see the table below: If you are using this browser: End this process: Internet Explorer iexplore.exe Chrome chrome.exe Safari Safari.exe SeaMonkey seamonkey.exe Opera opera.exe Firefox firefox.exe When you click on the End Process button, Task Manager will ask you to confirm if you are sure you want to terminate it as shown in the image below. At this point you should press the Yes button in order to kill the process. Your browser window should now be closed. The next time you open your browser, do not allow the browser to open the last opened page. You can now proceed to the next step.
To close The Fake Flash Player Update PopUp, you need to terminate the process for the browser that is currently displaying the browser based tech support scam. To do this we will use the Windows Task Manager. To open the task manager, press the Ctrl, Alt, and Delete keys at the same time to bring up the Windows security screen shown below. Once the above screen is open, click on the Task Manager link as indicated by the red arrow in the image above. The Windows Task Manager will now open and list all the running applications on the computer as shown below.
Look through the list of running applications and left-click once on the task for your web browser. The names of a running browser could include Microsoft Edge, Internet Explorer, Chrome, and Firefox.
Once you have selected a browser task, click on the End Task button to close the application and the browser tech support scam. You should close all browser tasks until the window showing the tech support scam is closed. The next time you open your browser, do not allow the browser to open the last opened page. You can now proceed to the next step. Once it is downloaded, double-click on the iExplore.exe icon in order to automatically attempt to stop any processes associated with The Fake Flash Player Update PopUp and other malware. Please be patient while the program looks for various malware programs and ends them. When it has finished, the black window will automatically close and a log file will open.
Please review the log file and then close so you can continue with the next step. If you have problems running RKill, you can download the other renamed versions of RKill from the. All of the files are renamed copies of RKill, which you can try instead. Please note that the download page will open in a new browser window or tab.
Do not reboot your computer after running RKill as the malware programs will start again. MBAM will now start and you will be at the main screen as shown below. We now need to enable rootkit scanning to detect the largest amount of malware and unwanted programs that is possible with MalwareBytes.
To do this, click on the Settings button on the left side of the screen and you will be brought to the general settings section. Now click on the Protection tab at the top of the screen.
You will now be shown the settings MalwareBytes will use when scanning your computer. At this screen, please enable the Scan for rootkits setting by clicking on the toggle switch so it turns green. When MBAM is finished scanning it will display a screen that displays any malware, adware, or potentially unwanted programs that it has detected. Please note that the items found may be different than what is shown in the image below due to the guide being updated for newer versions of MBAM. You should now click on the Remove Selected button to remove all the selected items. MBAM will now delete all of the files and registry keys and add them to the programs quarantine. When removing the files, MBAM may require a reboot in order to remove some of them.
If it displays a message stating that it needs to reboot, please allow it to do so. Once your computer has rebooted, and you are logged in, please continue with the rest of the steps.
When Zemana has finished finished scanning it will display a screen that displays any programs that have been detected. Please note that the items found may be different than what is shown in the image below.
Review the scan results and when you are ready to continue with the cleanup process, click on the Next button to delete or repair all of the the selected results. Once you click on the Next button, Zemana will remove any unwanted files and fix any modified legitimate files.
If you receive a warning that Zemana needs to close your open browsers, please close any web browsers that may be open and then click on the OK button to continue. Zemana will now create a System Restore Point and remove the detected files and repair any files that were modified. When AdwCleaner has finished downloading, please double-click on the AdwCleaner.exe icon that now appears on your desktop. Once you double-click on the icon the AdwCleaner program will open and you will be presented with the program's license agreement.
After you read it, click on the I agree button if you wish to continue. Otherwise, click on the I disagree button to close the program.
If Windows prompts you as to whether or not you wish to run AdwCleaner, please allow it to run. If you selected to continue, you will be presented with the start screen as shown below. Now click on the Scan button in AdwCleaner. The program will now start to search for known adware programs that may be installed on your computer.
When it has finished it will display all of the items it has found in Results section of the screen above. Please look through the results and try to determine if the programs that are listed contain ones that you do not want installed. If you find programs that you need to keep, then uncheck the entries associated with them. For many people, the contents of the Results section may appear confusing.
Unless you see a program name that you know should not be removed,please continue with the next step. To remove the adware programs that were detected in the previous step, please click on the Clean button on the AdwCleaner screen. AdwCleaner will now prompt you to save any open files or data as the program will need to close any open programs before it starts to clean. Please save your work and then click on the OK button. AdwCleaner will now delete all detected adware from your computer.
When it is done it will display an alert that explains what PUPs (Potentially Unwanted Programs) and Adware are. Please read through this information and then press the OK button. You will now be presented with an alert that states AdwCleaner needs to reboot your computer. Please click on the OK button to let AdwCleaner reboot your computer. In order to remove The Fake Flash Player Update PopUp completely you will need to reset Chrome back to its initial settings.
Doing these steps will erase all configuration information from Chrome such as your home page, tab settings, saved form information, browsing history, and cookies. This process will also disable any installed extensions.
All of your bookmarks, though, will be preserved. To reset Chrome, open the program and click on the Chrome menu button ( ) in the top right-hand corner of the window. This will open the main menu for Chrome as shown below. Now click on the menu option labeled Settings as shown by the arrow in the picture above, which will open the basic settings screen. Scroll down to the very bottom and you will see a Show advanced settings. Option as shown in the image below.
Click on the Show advanced settings. Option to open the advanced settings screen. Scroll to the very bottom until you see the reset button as shown in the image below.
Now click on the Reset settings button as shown in the image above. Chrome will now open a confirmation dialog asking if you are sure you wish to reset your browser. To reset Chrome, click on the Reset button. Chrome will now erase all your personal data, browsing history, and disable all installed extensions. Your bookmarks, though, will remain intact and still be accessible.
You can now close the Settings tab and continue with the rest of the instructions. In order to remove The Fake Flash Player Update PopUp completely you will need to reset Internet Explorer back to its initial settings. Doing these steps will erase all configuration information from Internet Explorer such as your home page, saved form information, browsing history, and cookies. This process will also disable any installed toolbars and add-ons. All of your bookmarks, though, will be preserved.
To reset Internet Explorer, open the program and click on the Internet Explorer menu button ( ) in the top right-hand corner of the window. This will open the main menu for Internet Explorer as shown below. Now click on the menu option labeled Internet options as shown by the arrow in the picture above, which will open the Internet Options screen.
Now click on the Advanced tab as shown in the image above. This will open the Advanced Settings screen. Now click on the Reset. Button as shown in the image above. Internet Explorer will now open a confirmation dialog asking you to confirm that you wish to reset your browser. In the reset dialog shown above, please put a check mark in Delete personal settings and then click on the Reset button. Internet Explorer will now erase all your personal data, browsing history, and disable all add-ons and toolbars.
Your favorites, though, will remain intact and still be accessible. Once the Reset process has been completed, click on the Close button. You will now be prompted to restart Internet Explorer to complete the reset.
Once you have restarted Internet Explorer, you can continue with the rest of the instructions. In order to remove The Fake Flash Player Update PopUp completely you will need to refresh Firefox back to its initial settings. It does this by removing all add-ons and personalized configuration settings. All of your bookmarks, though, will be preserved. To reset Firefox, open the program and click on the Firefox menu button ( ) in the top right-hand corner of the window. This will open the main menu for Firefox as shown below.
Now click on the question mark button ( ) as indicated by the arrow in the image above. This will open up the Firefox help menu. Next click on the Troubleshooting Information option as indicated by the arrow in the image above. This will bring you to a Troubleshooting page. To begin the refresh process click on the Refresh Firefox. When you do this a confirmation will be shown asking if you wish to perform a Firefox refresh.
To refresh Firefox, click on the Refresh Firefox button. When the refresh process is finished you will be shown an Import window that will automatically close. When that closes, Firefox will be open and state that it has been refreshed. You can now click on the Let's go! Button to start using Firefox again.
In order to completely remove The Fake Flash Player Update PopUp you will need to reset Safari back to its initial settings. Doing these steps will erase all configuration information from Safari such as your Top Sites, saved form information, browsing history, and cookies. This process will not erase your bookmarks or extensions, which will still be available after you reset Safari.
To reset Safari, open the program and click on the gear ( ) in the top right-hand corner of the window. This will open the main menu for Safari as shown below. Now click on the menu option labeled Reset Safari as shown by the arrow in the picture above. This will open a window that allows you to select all the items you wish to reset. Keep the check marks in each option and then click on the Reset button. Safari will delete all of your personal data and then open a blank page, which means the process has finished. It is important to note that this process does not delete your Bookmarks or any installed Safari Extensions.
If you wish to remove your Safari Extensions as well, you can download, which will reset Safari and delete all installed extensions, while still retaining your bookmarks. HitmanPro will now begin to scan your computer for infections, adware, and potentially unwanted programs. When it has finished it will display a list of all the items that Hitman has found as shown in the image below. Please note that the items found may be different than what is shown in the image.
You should now click on the Next button to have HitmanPro remove the detected items. When it is done you will be shown a Removal Results screen that shows the status of the various programs that were removed.
At this screen you should click on the Next button and then if prompted you should click on the Reboot button. If HitmanPro does not prompt you to reboot, please just click on the Close button. Once your computer has has restarted or you pressed the Close button, you should now be at your Windows desktop. As many malware and unwanted programs are installed through vulnerabilities found in out-dated and insecure programs, it is strongly suggested that you use Secunia PSI to scan for vulnerable programs on your computer. A tutorial on how to use Secunia PSI to scan for vulnerable programs can be found here: Your computer should now be free of the The Fake Flash Player Update PopUp program.
If your current security solution allowed this program on your computer, you may want to consider to protect against these types of threats in the future. If you are still having problems with your computer after completing these instructions, then please follow the steps outlined in the topic linked below.
Apple's Mac platform has long been than the competition, but as grow, it's become a bigger target. Nowhere is that clearer than with the Flashback Trojan, a gnarly piece of malware designed to steal personal information by masquerading as very mainstream browser plug-ins. Yesterday Russian antivirus company Dr. Web said that as a result of users unknowingly installing the software. So here's a quick FAQ on the Flashback Trojan, including information on what it is, how to tell if you have it, and steps you can take to get rid of it. What exactly is Flashback? Flashback is a form of malware designed to grab passwords and other information from users through their Web browser and other applications such as Skype.
A user typically mistakes it for a legitimate browser plug-in while visiting a malicious Web site. At that point, the software installs code designed to gather personal information and send it back to remote servers.
In its most recent incarnations, the software can install itself without user interaction. An earlier version of the Flashback Trojan's installer.
Intego When did it first appear? Flashback as we know it now appeared near the end of September last year, a widely used plug-in for streaming video and interactive applications that Apple no longer ships on its computers. The malware evolved to target the Java runtime on OS X, where users visiting malicious sites would then be prompted to install it on their machine in order to view Web content.
More advanced versions would install quietly in the background with no password needed. How did it infect so many computers? The simple answer is that the software was designed to do exactly that. In its initial incarnation, the malware looked very similar to Adobe's Flash installer. It didn't help that Apple on its computers for well over a year, arguably creating a pool of users more likely to run the installer in order to view popular Web sites that run on Flash. In its newer Java-related variants, the software could install itself without the user having to click on anything or provide it with a password. What also didn't help is the way that Apple deals with Java.
Instead of simply using Java's current public release, the company creates and maintains its own versions. As it turns out, the malware writers exploited one particular vulnerability that Oracle patched in February. Apple didn't get around to until April.
What has Apple done about it? Apple has its own malware scanner built into OS X called XProtect. Since Flashback's launch, the security tool to identify and protect against a handful of Flashback variants. A more recent version of the malware, however, got around XProtect by executing its files through Java. Apple closed off the malware's main entry point with a, and has since as part of a subsequent Java update.
Of note, the Java security fixes are only available on Mac OS X 10.6.8 and later, so if you're running OS X 10.5 or earlier, you will still be vulnerable. Apple has stopped supplying software updates for these operating systems. How do I tell if I have it? Right now the easiest way to tell if your computer has been infected is to head to security firm F-Secure and download its software.
On how to get and use it. Security company Symantec offers its own, Norton-branded standalone tool,. Alternately, you can run a trio of commands in Terminal, a piece of software you'll find in the Utilities folder in your Mac's Applications folder. If you want to find it without digging, just do a Spotlight search for 'Terminal.' Once there, copy and paste each one of the code strings below into the terminal window. The command will run automatically: defaults read /Applications/Safari.app/Contents/Info LSEnvironment defaults read /Applications/Firefox.app/Contents/Info LSEnvironment defaults read /.MacOSX/environment DYLDINSERTLIBRARIES If your system is clean, the commands will tell you that those domain/default pairs 'does not exist.' If you're infected, it will spit up the patch for where that malware has installed itself on your system.
Uh oh, I have it. How do I remove it? Using one of the above, aforementioned tools from F-Secure or Norton will automatically get rid of the malware from your computer without any further steps. If you are, for some reason, wary of using one of these third-party tools, CNET's Topher Kessler provides a step-by-step guide on from your Mac. This process also requires hopping into Terminal and running those commands, then tracking down where the infected files are stored, then manually deleting them.
For good measure, it's also a good idea to change your online passwords at financial institutions and other secure services that you may have used while your computer was compromised. It's unclear if this data was being targeted, logged, and sent as part of the attack, but it's a smart preventive behavior that's worth doing on a regular basis. Related stories.
So now that fixes are here, am I safe? In a word, no. The Flashback authors have already shown themselves inclined to keep altering the malware to sidestep new security fixes. CNET's advice is primarily to download any software only from trusted sources. That includes the sites of known and trusted software makers, as well secured repositories such as. Also, as another rule of thumb, it's a good idea to keep third-party add-ons as up to date as possible so as to stay current with any security updates.
If you want to stay even safer, stay away from Java and other system add-ons unless they're needed by a trusted piece of software or a Web service. CNET blogger Topher Kessler and CNET senior editor Seth Rosenblatt contributed to this report. Updated at 1:40 p.m. PT on April 5 with updated removal instructions. Updated on April 6 at 7:44 a.m. PT with info on a second update from Apple, and at 1:55 p.m.
PT with information about Dr. Web's Web-based detection utility. Updated on April 9 at 12:30 p.m.
PT with independent confirmation that Dr. Web's form is safe for people to use.
Updated once again at 4 p.m. PT on April 12 to note the release and details of Apple's own removal tool.