Cleaning a Malware Infection

Ask Woody's Free Newsletter has published an article on how to remove a malware infection. The type described in the article doesn't encrypt your files and is more of a scam than really dangerous, but it does make your computer hard to use until you remove it.

Recently, a client gave me his laptop, which displayed a frightening message as soon he logged in (see Figure 1). This variety of malware is all too popular. Here is a step-by-step process to remove it, expecting that the antivirus software installed in the computer cannot do its job. Along the way, you will see where malware is often hidden.

And, NO! The malware did not do as it claimed. But it hoped to scare owners into calling the area-code 704 number at the bottom of the screen, a cellular number in the Charlotte, North Carolina area. The scammer on the phone would hope to take your credit-card information and run up some charges.

At the heart of this scam is software called Supremo, claimed to be remote-access software similar to RDP, AnyDesk, TeamViewer, UltraVNC, LogMeIn, and others. Like those programs, Supremo allows the scammer to gain remote access to your computer, after which your passwords and personal financial information are at serious risk of theft. Beware! You can find very positive reviews of Supremo via a Google search, as well as possibly bogus or obsolete instructions for its removal. Supremo may have an honest and legitimate purpose, but its association with this malware is an enormous red flag. 

Even if you aren't infected with malware, it's probably worth your time to read this article, if just to learn about some of the techniques that malware uses to gain access to your computer.