The darn 4th chaos emerald Posted January 9, 2017 Share Posted January 9, 2017 So a few days ago I downloaded Pokemon metal on pokemoner.com and I apparently got a spyware virus (It was most likely fake, I called a number and this guy who talked in broken english was persistent in trying to get me to buy a 200$ antivirus sofware, got my name wrong when he was looking for it on the registered computers, Only happened on this computer not on any other electronic devices I have and only in chrome, when I told him I was 17 his tone changed to being not that interested especially when my mom got on the phone and said no to the anitvirus, and I turned my computer off and on again and Chrome was GONE.). I'm honestly probably not going to download any more roms except for updates for my current games but are there sites that I should just straight up avoid? Edit: Ok so My computer had a huge update after the whole fiasco and I have microsoft defender now. I scanned my computer and it says I'm clean. Thanks guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kim Posted January 9, 2017 Share Posted January 9, 2017 AquaLucario, I generally find Pokecommunity links to be safe---I checked Pokemon Metal's page on their and it redirects to Mediafire (and a legitimate download) and NOT Pokemoner.com. Speaking of Pokemoner, I decided to check it out, and to me it's pretty obviously fake/full of spyware. Here's the description by the site which gave off so many red flags: "Pokemoner.com is a webside. We want give a pokemon entertaiment bestest for you.... all are free!" >webside =/= website > can't even capitalize Pokemon > misspells 'entertainment' > bestest.... not even a word > not to mention the user interface on this site is horrid Having studied cybersecurity, I would like to stress everyone to be safe on the Internet. That's a pretty popular scam, just so you know---it almost sounds like ransomware. @AquaLucario3 Please download Malwarebytes (there's a free version), run it, and clean your computer now. I'm not a personal fan of McAfee, and Malwarebytes is a pretty good free software to keep your computer safe. If you notice any registry problems, I recommend CCleaner. Hopefully this is a minor spyware and you don't have to reinstall Windows. Backup any important documents on an external hard drive as well. Since this happened to you, as a future warning, be careful of 'phishing' emails and don't click untrustworthy links in your email, so your email doesn't get hacked and never give out your password. -- With regards to avoiding sketchy sites, I tend to stick to the creator's websites/Pokecommunity (be sure to check that the host for the download file is a legitimate filesharing site---rule of thumb is that Mediafire, Mega.co.nz, and Dropbox are some sites that are okay)... Also want to stress that you know the difference between a 'hack' and fan-game (like using RPG-Maker); if you're going to go into an extremely grey and sketchy area of emulation for big time consoles and handhelds (GBA, NDS, etc.), there are a bunch of sites that are bad, but I have a recommendation should you choose that route, though I don't think I would be able to publicly post the link here. -- Stay safe on the 'net, y'all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tartar Posted January 9, 2017 Share Posted January 9, 2017 Kim went over most things I was going to say, but I'll comment on things he might have missed. It does indeed seem like you downloaded the game from a scam site. Do note that an immediate way to see that this site does not host the original files is that it contains (fake)mirror downloaded for a multitude of games, implying that they're rehosting those games. Always try to find the original unaltered source of a Pokemon Fangame, which can be found on Forums for the most part, like this one for Reborn. And even then, it's always important to stay safe on the internet by protecting oneself with anti-virus and anti-spyware software. Like Kim said, MalwareBytes is awesome, and the free version is quite extensive and the only thing it lacks is a real-time scaner, so download that one and scan your computer. In addition, I recommend you download an anti-virus software. Now this is the tricky part, since most of the good anti-virus software costs money, and it's understandable if you don't want to pay 20$/Year for Kaspersky. Here I recommend you download the trial version of Kaspersky and scan your PC with it. Then uninstall it after the trial ends, and after that download the free version of Avira, which is probably the best free anti-virus software out at the moment. Hopefully, these two can help avoid any damages this event may have caused to your computer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DemICE Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 I have played metal. Never occurred to me after download. It was a mediafire link, and those are mostly safe. Generally poke community is considered safe. Try to not download stuff from questionable sites Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.