Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2016 November 30

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November 30

Can't visit Blue Dart website

I can't visit Blue Dart through any browsers on my PC. In Chrome it gives error code: ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED. I've already tried,

• Restart DNS client
• Change IPv4 DNS Address
• Try resetting TCP/IP
• Reset Chrome

Any help will be appreciated. --Joseph 04:28, 30 November 2016 (UTC)

Have you tried restarting the computer and router? In any case, it's possible you have been blocked by the website for some reason. Nil Einne (talk) 06:44, 30 November 2016 (UTC)

Tried that already. No luck.--Joseph 07:06, 30 November 2016 (UTC)

Open the command prompt (cmd). Type "ping www.bluedart.com" (sans quotes) and press enter. I get 203.201.209.114 as the ip address - it may be different for you. Type the ip into your browser address bar: http://203.201.209.114 196.213.35.146 (talk) 09:32, 30 November 2016 (UTC)

As a troubleshooting step, try a different browser? IE or firefox?Vespine (talk) 21:32, 30 November 2016 (UTC)

It was stated "browsers" above which I assumes means more than 1, but not which other ones. Nil Einne (talk) 07:05, 1 December 2016 (UTC)

Getting rid of a malware popup

I was just using my laptop for to look at a consumer review site (not even clickbait or a porn site!), when I got an annoying malware popup stating that my PC was infected and I should call a stated number to get tech support from Microsoft. Ignorig that ploy, I ran Malwarebytes which did not anything harmful, and I am running a full scan by Norton, which has been going on for hours. I am now on a different computer. What additional antivirus/antimalware products would it make sense to run to be sure the pesky malware is expunged? I did not think to photograph the popup, so I do not recall the exact text, making it hard to google possible solutions. Edison (talk) 19:53, 30 November 2016 (UTC)

No expert, but was it just a website or dialog box? If it was just a new page that opened and you closed it without clicking anything you should be fine if your browser and OS are up to date, no? Blythwood (talk) 21:19, 30 November 2016 (UTC)

It was a square popup which covered up a portion of the page I was reading. I was unable to remove it by clicking on its "x" closeout box. It was somewhat persistant, not leaving when I tried to close the page and the Firefox browser. I'm using Windows 10. Somehow I was able to open the Start window and the apps list, then run the malware and antivirus programs I mentioned, which only found innocuous things like cookies. Someone suggested setting up two users on the laptop, one for financial use (bank, broker, etc) and the other for email and websurfing, But if the websurfing "user" was seized by malware which sought to encryot the contents of the hard drive, or to install a keystroke logger, would those also screw over the banking "user?" Edison (talk) 21:09, 1 December 2016 (UTC)

I had a very similar experience last week (not for the first time), except that the popup opened up a new tab and occupied the whole of the screen, so I had to hard switch-off. (I had already disconnected from the internet by dint of pulling out the telephone socket connection, which is set up to be within reach.)

As on previous occasions, when I started up the PC again and opened up that browser, the popup was still present on it (though by now it might have been closeable, as sometimes before), so I shut down and booted up again, ran several different free anti-malware scans including Malwarebytes from existing apps on my desktop (as with you, none reported finding anything egregious), and then using a different browser went to the Microsoft site's Downloads for Windows page, and downloaded & ran the Malicious Software Removal Tool (linked at the bottom of that page). As on previous occasions, this overall seems to have solved the problem, though I can't tell at what point.

I can't answer your last question, but my layman's guess would be: quite possibly – malware doesn't conform to expected rules and behaviour, after all! {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} — Preceding unsigned comment added by 176.248.159.54 (talk) 00:13, 2 December 2016 (UTC)

Someone suggested setting up two users on the laptop, one for financial use (bank, broker, etc) and the other for email and websurfing, But if the websurfing "user" was seized by malware which sought to encryot the contents of the hard drive, or to install a keystroke logger, would those also screw over the banking "user?" - It depends on your threat model. If malware gets in, a dedicated attacker will surely find one of your software with a privilege escalation vulnerability which means any account separation is meaningless; however, some just throw a lot of commands around and go for the low-hanging fruit. In that case, they will "only" get your current account (but even then, it can still have write access to a lot of files that you would prefer not to be lost).

In any case, the best antivirus you will ever have is between your two ears. Any company that claims its users can "rely on them" 100% for computer security is lying. Frequent scanning is no substitute for computer hygiene. Tigraan^{Click here to contact me} 09:32, 2 December 2016 (UTC)

It sounds like there was some browser hijacking, this is where one is fooled into clicking into something that makes itself your start page or search engine or suchlike. They can be very dangerous as for instance a search hijack might direct you to another web that looked like a reputable site you use but substitutes a virus for a download.

Yes using Air gap (networking) and frequent backups is what one should do in a company to protect accounts and money transfers and anything else that is vital. The model there is a bit wrong in that one is also worried about viruses coming in and just trying for reasonably strong security, that is far better than many companies do and hackers will go after the low-hanging fruit. Dmcq (talk) 12:29, 3 December 2016 (UTC)