“You Are Blocked” MSN virus/scam

Posted: 05:15 hours (GMT+8)

Virus alert. Someone on my friendslist fell for the scam. Assuming there are only 6 degrees of separation… Thought I’d write something up really quick before someone else I know falls victim. I’m up this late because I was doing my Final Year Project.

How it tricks people: A hacker enters your MSN account, advertising a block checker with a trademarked company. It will come up as an offline friend logging in, talking to you with the ad, possibly changing the screen name, then soonafter logging out. Your friend will include a link to either “www.you-are-blocked.com” or “www.youareblocked.com“, saying you can check out who has blocked you on MSN by using this site.

The overexcited/curious unsuspecting person CLICKS THE LINK and GIVES THEIR PASSWORD without checking things out with their friend first.

Consequences: From what I’ve heard (on the interwebs), downloading the software will cause your computer screen to start spazzing. Then it dies. Permanently. I’m sorry.

Otherwise, it’ll just send the link to your friends, pretending to be you.

Damage control:

1) Change your MSN password - NOW! GO GO GO

Eventually you should be able to log into MSN. If MSN is too unreliable, sign in through another website that uses the MSN Passport or Windows Live ID, such as Hotmail/Windows Live Mail. It will be at a section that says something like “Settings”, “Account” or “Edit your info”.

***If you can’t figure out how to change your password, please step away from the computer now and get someone who does because the likelihood you will cause your computer to die an even worse death as you continue following these steps is very, very high.***

(Edit: After reading some comments from readers, I believe you can stop at Step 1 if your computer is not acting weird.)

2) Disable system restore

This ensures a thorough clean-up and that the virus won’t be backed up.

Windows XP instructions
Windows ME instructions

3) Reboot computer in Safe Mode

Press the F5 or F8 key down as soon as you turn on the computer and hold it there until you hear a beep, see a startup menu (a list of the computer’s various startup options) appear, or safe mode loads. You’ll know you did it right if you see the words “safe mode” at the corners of your screen.

4) Run a thorough virus check

Ensure your anti-virus software is up-to-date. If it isn’t, download the latest updates from its website before running it. Need help? Check out this tutorial.
5) Remove MSN Messenger completely

Uninstall it from the Add/Remove Programs control panel to remove its program directory from your computer (to make sure everything is removed). If you can’t find it, it should be under “Windows Live Messenger” (too tired to check now, using common sense).

6) Reinstall MSN Messenger

Go to the official website and reinstall it.

7) Learn from it

Warn your friends and don’t do it again.

Information Sources:
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