With technology advancing as it is today and “hackers” becoming more and more clever every day with the viruses they create, owning a computer can sometimes prove to be more than challenging. The new FBI MoneyPak Virus, also known as a “rootkit” virus is unfortunately one of the negatives effects of our ever increasing technology. A rootkit virus is a very sneaky type of software, typically designed to perform behind the scenes on one’s computer. This type of virus is designed to hide the existence of certain programs from normal methods of detection and enables the creator of such viruses to access your computer and sometimes important personal and business information. As a computer repair technician, I am constantly striving to stay on top of such problems and learn how to prevent and remove these problems for my clients. It definitely has become more complicated as today’s viruses have become more complex. Unlike many viruses which require the user to click on the “ad” or webpage, etc., the FBI MoneyPak Virus can simply be obtained by visiting a website that has already been corrupted by the virus, which is known in the computer world as a “drive by virus.” This virus is also known as the “Reveton Trojan Virus.” Both the FBI MoneyPak virus and Trojan Viruses have unfortunately conned many trusting and unknowing people into paying money to “remove” these viruses. This is nothing more than a scam. Many people without much knowledge of computers or the internet often times pay as much as $300 to have this virus removed. Again, it is a scam. The FBI or any other organization will not post a pop-up to your computer telling you that a fee must be paid to have this virus removed. There are many videos or websites claiming they can teach you to remove the virus. Unfortunately, with the ever changing technological advances and deceitful minds of those creating such viruses, there are new versions of these viruses almost daily. There are some good programs that you can purchase to remove these nasty viruses, i.e., Malwarebytes, Microsoft Security Essentials, or Norton Power Eraser. With that said, I have come up with a method to manipulate or navigate the virus which most people do not know. This may seem complicated, and that is why I am always available for my clients for all of their computer repair needs. I will share the way I have discovered to remove this virus. First, restart your computer and when the computer is FIRST booting up press F8. There will be several choices to click on, but the option you need is “safe mode with command prompt”. Windows will then load with a command prompt. When the command prompt appears, type in “explorer.exe” (without the “…”). This is the back door to Windows and will allow you to complete various tasks. You cannot remove the virus at this step. While in this limited version of Windows you need to create a new user and name it “test”. This new user needs to be set up with administrator privileges. After completing these steps, restart the computer and log into the newly created user “test”. Congratulations, you have now bypassed the FBI or other Rootkit virus which has infected your computer. In this “test” mode you can use other virus removing tools, as those mentioned above, to rid your computer of these debilitating infections. Again the best virus removal programs are “Norton Power Erase, ComboFix, and Malwarebytes.” Truly though, these should only be used by a computer repair professional, such as Mobile PC Medics. Mobile PC Medics is here for all your computer repair needs and we are also willing to help our clients help themselves by providing these types of tips. If you have a virus like the FBI MoneyPak or Trojan virus, we are here to serve you for this or any other computer repair need. You can find us in Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley, Woodland Hills, and surrounding areas of the Conejo and San Fernando Valleys. Mobile PC Medics is always here for you and your personal or business computer repair needs @ 818-307-6868.
