SECURITY - MALWARE - 25.06.2018

Help, I clicked on a malware link! What now?

Clicked? Follow these seven steps

1. If your browser asks you whether it is allowed to download something after you’ve clicked on the suspicious link, refuse this. Note. This will only work if you have configured your browser in advance so that it will ask you before each download where the downloaded file should be saved - you can set this option in your browser settings.
2. If you have downloaded a program, simply prevent it from being run. Normally your browser will ask you whether such a program may be launched: refuse this and try to remove the file from your download folder. Under no circumstances launch the downloaded program yourself!
3. Switch off your Internet connection by unplugging your network cable or by switching off your Wi-Fi connection in your computer’s network connections - or simply switch off your Wi-Fi router completely.
4. Close your browser in order to stop any JavaScripts that are still running on the malware site. If you don’t succeed in closing your browser, do so via the Windows Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc). Restart the browser. One of the tabs will still contain the malware site, but since you’re no longer connected to the Internet, the accompanying JavasScripts can’t be loaded. Close the tab containing the malware site. At the same time, delete all the data and files from the cache of your browser (Ctrl+Shift+Del) to get rid of all remnants of the malware site.
5. Carry out a full, in-depth scan of your computer with your (hopefully recently updated) antivirus software, but still without being connected to the Internet. Follow the software instructions to remove the suspicious files or to quarantine them.
6. Ideally, you should perform a scan using a dedicated antimalware tool such as Malwarebytes ( https://www.malwarebytes.com ). If you haven’t installed this tool yet, download it via another computer, place it on a USB stick and install it from the stick on to your infected computer. Let this software perform a full scan, but still without establishing an Internet connection.
7. Once you’ve gone through all these steps, you may reactivate your Internet connection. Now keep your antivirus software up to date at all times, or use the Windows 10 integrated Microsoft Windows Defender, which is updated automatically.

How do you recognise a malware link?

If you see a link from someone you don’t know in an e-mail message, a tweet or a Facebook post, it’s best not to click on it at all. Let the mouse pointer hover over the link and you will see the URL hidden behind it at the bottom in your browser. This generally tells you whether or not this URL will take you to a safe destination. Alternatively, copy the URL (right-click on the link and choose Copy Link Address or Copy Link Location ) and check it using a free service such as URLVoid ( http://www.urlvoid.com ).

If it’s a shortened URL, you will of course have to find out which address is hidden behind it. Using a service such as CheckShortURL ( https://checkshorturl.com ), you can see the original URL at a glance and immediately have its reliability checked.