The Economist - PageFair hack - did I get it?

Hi all,

The Economist website was hacked via PageFair (http://www.economist.com/help/pagefair).

The hack meant you got malware called Acrobat Reader DC >:(

The Economist recommended running a full scan with Avast which I did.

The Avast scan said I had no malware but when I looked at my programs list I did have the Acrobat Reader (187 MB / Product Version 15.009.20077 / installed 07.11.15). Which I think is the malware. I’ve since uninstalled the Acrobat.

So, my question is…did I or have I got the malware??

Thanks,

AshRegister

Not to worry this is not a malware. Never seen a 187 MB malware.
https://forums.adobe.com/thread/1998302
http://www.adobe.com/devnet-docs/acrobatetk/tools/ReleaseNotes/index.html
https://www.reddit.com/r/PDQDeploy/related/3r9e8f/adobe_reader_dc_patch_1500920077/.compact

As you can see this seems to be a legit programme ! You may download malwarebytes free from here https://www.malwarebytes.org/mwb-download/ and ran a scan. See what it says.
Are you a registered member of the Economist ?

Thanks for the reply. Much appreciated.

It looks like what I downloaded from adobe was legit. I couldn’t be sure what date I downloaded it. I guess it was 29 Oct - the malware was 31 Oct / 01 Nov. So all good I guess.

Also, Adobe’s disappeared so I guess that proves I deleted a legit program.

I also ran the Malwarebytes you suggested. All clear.

There’s a chance also if I did download the pagefair malware that my Norton 360 Premier hadn’t expired and took care of it. (I got a pop up from them when I logged on this morning saying it’d expired. I didn’t say when. Then an hour later I find out about the economist / pagefair hack).

And yes - I’m a subscriber of The Economist.

Thanks again.

Cheers,

AshR

Welcome ! Since you are a subscriber of the said magazine just go into the trouble and change your password. Better safe than sorry.

Cheers

The Economist recommended running a full scan with[b] Avast[/b] which I did.
There's a chance also if I did download the pagefair malware that my [b]Norton 360 Premier [/b]hadn't expired and took care of it

Do you have Norton and avast installed?

Hi Pondus…yes - I’ve got both installed but Norton’s expired and I haven’t renewed. And I’m not sure if that means it still active and possibly detected / destroyed the Economist / Pagefair virus. Cheers,

Will do. Thanks.

2 antivirus program installed in one computer is a big NO NO. Even though Norton is expired and is installed and Avast is not expired and is installed it will cause serious problems. Either keep norton or avast.

Why Using Multiple Antivirus Programs is a Bad Idea https://blog.kaspersky.com/multiple-antivirus-programs-bad-idea/2670/

Uninstalling a third-party antivirus software https://www.avast.com/en-us/faq.php?article=AVKB11#artTitle

Hi pondus / staticguy,

Thanks for the advise. I deleted Nortons. I’ve now just got Avast.

I’ve also got Malwarebytes - is that considered an anti-virus program? (I’m thinking that could be a stupid question)

Cheers,

Ash

Malwarebytes isn’t an Anti-Virus so it’s fine to have with Avast.