Avoid SpyHunter like the plague - it's ransomware

Göran Ingvarsson

Level 1
Thread author
Jan 23, 2017
3
Hello. Sucker that I am and disregarding a gazillion bad reviews on the net, I relented and paid the USD 499(!). See, I was desperate as I got very heavily infected on Saturday morning with, among a gazillion other 'goodies', the dread wizzcaster browser hijacker wich is a b*tch to remove.

Sure, SpyHunter found lots of baddies - and then asked for money to clean up. No trial, no breaks whatever. That's why I consider it ransomware.

But the fun didnt stop there. All of a sudden SH 'found' lots of problems offered to fix them. I have 23 years experience as a PC support/repair person and I know when things are not right.

So I sent their customer support this message:
-----------------------------------------------------
Today I received a dire warning from SpyHunter saying:

'Your DNS settings have been modified. Accept changes or restore original saved settings?
Accept | (which was the default choice) | Restore | Remind me later.'
DNS, huh.jpg

This has never, in my 23 years of PC use (I'm 59), happened before.

I.e., not before I installed Spyhunter, wich I am now convinced is indeed malware of the first degree.

I made the wrong choice in the dialog (Accept or Restore, I forget) and subsequently got nowhere on the net. DNS error, don't you know.

Luckily, a few reboots were enough to fix this 'error'. Dumb luck you might say.

SH obviously a) manufactures errors, then b) 'finds' them.

I will report this to PayPal and have my money back, rest assured.
-----------------------------------------------------
and have not received a peep in the way of reply 3 days later so I just finished filing a complaint with PayPal - just as promised.

Thank G*d for payPal btw where they can *really* help with criminals like this. Just like eBay UK.
 

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Last edited:

Paul123

Level 4
Verified
Well-known
Dec 9, 2016
174
Now you tell me Viking...;) like I said, I am a sucker; I should have researched beforehand, not after the fact.

Hindsight is 20/20 as you know :(.
It can happen to anyone. I remember many years ago downloading a little utility to do some small customisation of Windows (XP at the time) and that was ransonware (luckily even back then I backed up). i must admit these days I always get nervous about downloading freeware, though probably in many cases its fine. Its hard to know if some author or company is legitimate, and its best, as others say to research it on the web first before installing it. You very much have my sympathy. Thanks at least for warning others.
 

Göran Ingvarsson

Level 1
Thread author
Jan 23, 2017
3
You're not the first to fall for SpyHunter! SpyHunter 4 : Is it a fake software?

I still don't understand why PCmag considers it a legitimate program? o_O Enigma SpyHunter 4
If you mean my humble self - thanks for the sympathy. Berate myself with the benefit if hindsight I can do fine on my own. You, mal1, are seemingly a mensch with an understanding of human frailty.

Oh, how I wish I were perfect and knew it all.
 

roger_m

Level 41
Verified
Top Poster
Content Creator
Dec 4, 2014
3,014
It's ridiculous to label SpyHunter as ransomware. Actual ransomware is a serious problem, whereas SpyHunter will not encrypt your data, and can be be uninstalled.

I still don't understand why PCmag considers it a legitimate program? o_O Enigma SpyHunter 4
It is a legitimate program, and as the PCMag review confirms, it does detect (some) malware. It does very badly at detecting malware, and also has issues with false positives, both of which mean that it's definitely not worth using, as there are much better free alternatives.
 

roger_m

Level 41
Verified
Top Poster
Content Creator
Dec 4, 2014
3,014
What free alternatives are there? Maybe there are ones that I don't know.
Zemana AntiMalware and Malwarebytes Anti-Malware are both very good. Also, Cezurity Antivirus Scanner, seems quite good, but I haven't tested it on an infected computer. It looks like it does quite well at detecting PUPs, and hasn't given me any false positives.
 
Last edited:

Ejaz

New Member
Jul 20, 2017
2
Hi,
I have tried Spyhunter out and saw for many effects. I had a monitor on all files, browsers, antiviruses and settings to see if they were altered. I even tested a reboot, it was normally done and faster than usual. My friend had to use the PC, and all of a sudden, viruses were removed, no ads on the browser and more importantly no setting was changed.
 

roger_m

Level 41
Verified
Top Poster
Content Creator
Dec 4, 2014
3,014
Slow.. no costume scan..pain:D
I don't find the scan speed of a Quick Scan to be too slow, and the lack on a custom scan doesn't worry me. However, I just ran a scan, and afterwards, the RAM usage of Cezurity's service rose to 2GB. I rebooted and then it's usage went to 4GB. I've uninstalled it now.
 

_CyberGhosT_

Level 53
Verified
Honorary Member
Top Poster
Content Creator
Well-known
Aug 2, 2015
4,286
Hi,
I have tried Spyhunter out and saw for many effects. I had a monitor on all files, browsers, antiviruses and settings to see if they were altered. I even tested a reboot, it was normally done and faster than usual. My friend had to use the PC, and all of a sudden, viruses were removed, no ads on the browser and more importantly no setting was changed.
Yes, even way over here we know it is crapware ;)
 

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