Help, did I just buy some malware?

[njshorts]

in my freetime, i prefer not to sell signs... nor spend money if I don't have to.
i see your point, and please see mine. was just offering a FREE simple solution to check if there was an issue.

in my free time i'd rather be spending time with family, at the shooting range or relaxing... to each his own.

 

[Marlene]

multiple references, and do a bit of digging on the manufacturer's website... something that looks a bit too 'web 2.0' may throw up a flag, generally a sign of a hastily built site (in a hurry for a reason!), companies that only sell one product are also a good example of a red flag... one more thing to keep in mind, if a website EVER tells you 'you're infected! look at these viruses! click here to fix it!' it's ALWAYS a scam. also pay attention to any site that references your registry or registry errors- generally a scam... even if they're legit, registry 'cleaners' cause more harm than good.

also, you can ask on here or ask a trusted IT professional... a number of us have worked in IT and are willing to help (chocucove also comes to mind, he's a pretty sharp dude... same with signburst.) if it helps, i've worked in the antivirus/antimalware industry on products for home and corporate (windows/linux).

the sites I just sent are legitimate, including one from the writer of vipre (Sunbelt Software/GFI). cnet/pc magazine reviews are also helpful as they test software before reviewing it.

thanks to all for all the good answers. we did check out the site for PC Doc and since we had it years ago, we re-ordered it when we had some issues and once installed, it did fix all the problems we had. yesterday things went to crap and any searches from any of the search sites we use brought us to something else including porn. I used my 'puter to check into PC Doc and that is when I found info that they were a malware disguised as a program. I don't always trust stuff you find like that on the web as who knows who is the bad guy. thanks for info as where to start to sort all of this out!

PS, PC DOC installed Malwarebytes and CC cleaner. I was glad to see the suggestion to install the Malwarebytes as this may mean they aren't malware themselves or why would they install such a thing

 

[WildWestDesigns]

PS, PC DOC installed Malwarebytes and CC cleaner. I was glad to see the suggestion to install the Malwarebytes as this may mean they aren't malware themselves or why would they install such a thing

Unless they have something that hides them from Malwarebytes by installing it along with their program. Their version of Malwarebytes might have something missing or added to it, etc.