I think I have a virus

[jmnew]

Whenever I first start my PC and go to youtube I continually get these messages in the lower right hand corner of my screen that says "A Trojan horse was found and please update your anti virus to remove this". They seem to coming from Macafee/firefox. They continually pop up while using my PC. Can someone please help with this issue? It also says "your payment to xxxxx has failed please update your payment information.

[Murf]

Appears you have Malware not a Virus, try running this free program Malwarebytes, download install and run then remove what it finds, reboot. It will want you to buy it, just say no and use the free one.

https://download.cnet.com/Malwarebyt...-10804572.html

[jmnew]

I already tried that and that annoying pup-up still persists.

[Murf]

Windows Defender, built into Windows is a excellent virus protection/malware . Sometimes Mcaffee will interfere it’s it. You really do not need Mcafee, go to Task Manager, Carl/alt/del, select Start up. Uncheck Mcafee from starting with Windows., then uninstall McAfee, bet it goes away.

[Digerati]

Originally Posted by Murf

Appears you have Malware not a Virus

Ummm, you are showing your age, Murf! LOL

"Malware" is an umbrella term for "malicious software that includes viruses.

"Vehicle" makes a good analogy. Cars, trucks, tractors, boats and airplanes are all very different - but are still vehicles. Same with malware.

Many, many MANY years ago, viruses were said to be in a separate category by some people. But as different types of malicious software started to appear, users were getting tired of needing multiple scanners bogging down our systems - with anti-virus, anti-Trojan, anti-rootkit, anti-spyware, etc. all consuming resources and some creating conflicts.

So the major security software developers started integrating and consolidated all their anti-malicious software features and scanners into a single security solution. This resulted in viruses being pulled under the same umbrella as other malicious software like Trojans, worms, etc.

Yes, a virus behaves and replicates in a different way than a worm, but both are still malicious software, thus malware - just as a car and a boat are both vehicles.

This is exactly why "Microsoft Defender" (formally Windows Defender) is all we need to protect us from all sorts of malware, including Trojans, worms, and viruses.

Are viruses malware?

Yes.

Norton

The most common types of malware include viruses, worms, trojans, ransomware, bots or botnets, adware, spyware, rootkits, fileless malware, and malvertising.

AVAST: Malware vs. Viruses: What’s the Difference?

A computer virus is just one type of malware. Just as all squares are rectangles (but not all rectangles are squares), all viruses are malware, but not all malware is a virus.

Microsoft: Types of Malware.

***

Having said all that, agree with the advice given and double checking with a secondary scanner is a good idea. I also like Malwarebytes for that.

One of the nice things about Malwarebytes Premium is that it plays well with Microsoft Defender, without hogging resources or impacting system performance. Note the primary difference between the free version and the Premium version is the Premium version includes a real-time scanner - good for peace of mind.

I also recommend using Microsoft Defender instead of McAfee. Don't let the naysayers and MS bashers fool you into thinking it is not good enough. It definitely is.

But also, regardless your security solution of choice, it is essential to keep your OS and security fully up to date, and avoid being "click-happy" on unsolicited links, downloads, attachments and popups.

[jmnew]

Ran Malwarebytes, checked startup, nothing to do with malwarebytes running in startup, even downloaded Avast, and nohing has changed.

[Digerati]

What exactly does the message say? Does it identify the Trojan by name?

Are you saying Malwarebytes and Avast found nothing?

You say it seems to have something to do with McAfee/Firefox. First - just to ensure we are on the same page - McAfee and Firefox are two, totally different products. Do you mean that McAfee is saying Firefox has, or is displaying a page that has this Trojan?

What is the Home page you have set for Firefox?

How is your security configured now?

[Jintan]

mcafee firefox popup

[zipulrich]

https://www.makeuseof.com/mcafee-vir...s%20not%20real.

[jmnew]

Ok. What I eventually ended up doing was deleting firefox from my system then installing a fresh download. This resolved the issue. Thanks for all your help.
Jim