this post was submitted on 06 Apr 2025
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PC Master Race

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I just saw this and felt I should share it. I'm sure most people here wouldn't fall for it but it can't hurt to make sure 👍

Edit: I just wanted to add, I have no idea what this tried to copy. I'm using Firefox on Linux which is perhaps why it didn't make it to my clipboard 🤷

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[–] IsoSpandy@lemm.ee 1 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago)

I pressed ctrl+r on my laptop and the screen got a bit dimmer, had to press esc to make it go away. What to do to pass the verification?

PS: I am a human, not a robot.

Lol, 99% of Lemmy ain't falling for it. (Everyone here is a computer nerd)

[–] ceiphas@lemmy.world 97 points 1 day ago (2 children)
[–] x00z@lemmy.world 3 points 20 hours ago

Should I keep a copy of the file that I can then start using again after payment?

[–] LovableSidekick@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago

Have a blessed day!

[–] joshcodes@programming.dev 15 points 23 hours ago

Oooo I'm researching this. We call some of them click fix and others clearfake but theyre all fake captcha. Its either from vulnerable wordpress themes or plugins so update ya sites for the love of Torvalds.

They're basically a method for infostealers to get downloaded onto the device. They're kinda nasty and some lead to ransomware if youre really unlucky. The usual payload is intended to leach off an individual and steal passwords, crypto addresses, etc, but as soon as they find out you're an organisation computer, they use your machine for initial access and potential further compromise.

Most people don't run these but I've seen at least 3 people who have and tbh usually antivirus stops the 2nd stage payload. So make sure Defender antivirus is turned on, and maybe consider blocking newly registered domains using ad block if you are more tech savvy. Remind your grandparents and young siblings to never do anything with Win+R or disable it on their pc if you know how. Infostealers are nasty and having one on the family pc will hurt every member of the family.

[–] zdanger@lemmy.world 64 points 1 day ago (2 children)

My brother ran into this while car shopping on a reputable Utah based Toyota dealership's website. It was a powershell script that downloaded and executed something from a base64 encoded Bitly URL. Bitly took down the URL so we couldn't see where it was redirecting.

It seems like attackers are embedding this in vulnerable legit websites

[–] joshcodes@programming.dev 9 points 23 hours ago

Yeah, some wordpress themes have vulnerable bits that allow attackers to inject cross site scripting attacks into the page via various methods. Some have pivoted to using wordpress plugins which is a newer method I don't entirely understand yet.

[–] UnH1ng3d@lemmy.world 20 points 1 day ago

Thanks, that's very interesting to know. I assumed it was just a malicious site before.

[–] slazer2au@lemmy.world 114 points 1 day ago (2 children)

If your web browser tells you to do something outside of your web browser, you shouldn't.

[–] kruhmaster@sh.itjust.works 80 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Please check your phone for the verification code we sent you 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[–] Kbobabob@lemmy.world 1 points 11 hours ago

I get my messages in my browser though

[–] KairuByte@lemmy.dbzer0.com 17 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Many non tech users wouldn’t even realize they were leaving the browser.

[–] Zeroc00l@sh.itjust.works 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Non tech users...like the Amish?

[–] KairuByte@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 points 23 hours ago

I meant “non tech literate” but I’ll own it at this point 🤣

[–] LovableSidekick@lemmy.world 18 points 1 day ago

Microsoft verification needed! Please insert penis in hole and pull lever.

[–] nukeforyou@lemm.ee 30 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Easily stopped by using Ad Blockers.. Now if only chrome wasnt trying to kill ad blockers

[–] Jolteon@lemmy.zip 7 points 1 day ago

Someone having a virus on their computer doesn't prevent them from giving Google ad revenue.

[–] JRaccoon@discuss.tchncs.de 11 points 1 day ago (2 children)

I think Microsoft should add a warning before allowing pasting into the Run dialog for the first time. Similarly like they already have in Edge's console

[–] Brosplosion@lemm.ee 7 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Hot take, win+r should be disabled by default and have an option to enable. Probably 99% or more of users will never use the run dialogue

[–] Aqarius@lemmy.world 3 points 13 hours ago

Disagree, mostly because half the time I WinR is when I'm trying to fix someone else's PC, and getting to the settings is half the problem.

[–] Natanael@infosec.pub 4 points 23 hours ago

Linux does this better by defaulting to files not being executable, versus Windows needing the downloading software to apply a specific "downloaded file" flag to trigger a notice about potentially unsafe files.

You could make a lot of the commands available by default much less dangerous. Stuff like requiring using protected screens more (like UAC and ctrl+alt+del) for enabling the risky stuff.

Also, sandboxing by default would do even more to prevent the worst dangers.

[–] sus@programming.dev 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

powershell has that too

[–] Telorand@reddthat.com 23 points 1 day ago

This tactic is so old, but it weaponizes the annoying ubiquity of capchas. People just want to get to where they're going, so they click the squares and do the dance to get past the seemingly arbitrary barriers.

This technique shows up on !cybersecurity@sh.itjust.works every few weeks as the initial attack vector for some new RAT.

[–] ayyy@sh.itjust.works 9 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Honestly having Win-R enabled in home edition is a bad default.

Agree. It's usually used just to run cmd, which then does the same thing but also shows output and allows for interactive CLI. Linux does it right with Ctrl+Alt+T.

[–] muhyb@programming.dev 22 points 1 day ago

Didn't work. Hmm, maybe I should install Wine first.

[–] werefreeatlast@lemmy.world 12 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

You click the link, it copies bad code, then asks you to paste the code on a privileged terminal window and hit run.

I saw this a week sometime ago and I had to explain it to all my family members. Evilness.

Easily defeated by not giving users root access.

[–] spooky2092@lemmy.blahaj.zone 6 points 1 day ago

Taking away admin access on my mother's windows machine was one of the best decisions I made. Along with moving her to Ubuntu after she ran without admin 'which she had to have' (even though all it let her do was fuck up her computer). Saved so many hours reinstalling or disinfecting her machine.

[–] csm10495@sh.itjust.works 10 points 1 day ago

Lucky for me, my mom doesn't know what the windows key is.

[–] cortex7979@lemm.ee 7 points 1 day ago

Installed adblockers for all of my non techy family members

[–] markovs_gun@lemmy.world 20 points 1 day ago (5 children)

Legit question- who is this for? I can't imagine anyone getting to PC Master Race on Lemmy that would fall for something this obvious.

[–] Warl0k3@lemmy.world 66 points 1 day ago

There's a ton of IT workers on lemmy (go figure). Being aware of the current scams is quite valuable, since it means both that you can warn your users and you know what to look for when they inevitably ignore your warning and do it anyways.

[–] Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works 12 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Useful for someone like me who saw this in All. You know the "Granny lowers her glasses and peers into the computer screen" meme? That's me, except I have progressive lenses (to match my politics) so I leave my glasses up.

[–] hakunawazo@lemmy.world 9 points 1 day ago

There are two types of grandmas:

[–] peto@lemm.ee 16 points 1 day ago

You maybe not, your family? All your friends/coworkers/etc? Talk about scams with people, lots of people use PCs without knowing what is and isn't safe.

[–] real_squids@sopuli.xyz 15 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Some of us sort by All, so it's a random chance of seeing this

[–] SirSamuel@lemmy.world 13 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Hi. That's me. I came from all.

I'm also not a complete dumbass, but i appreciate the post, b/c some of my family could BSoD a pocket watch

[–] Empricorn@feddit.nl 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I love this saying, but I think it meant a lot more before smartwatches.

[–] SirSamuel@lemmy.world 5 points 23 hours ago

I specifically choose pocket watch because the odds of it being smart are very low lol

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[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 11 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

windows key+r to open the "run" dialog

lol nope!

[–] Hikermick@lemmy.world 11 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I came across this yesterday. It was right after a run of the mill "I am not a robot" message.

[–] FeelzGoodMan420@eviltoast.org 5 points 1 day ago (3 children)
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[–] swizzlestick@lemmy.zip 8 points 1 day ago

Anyone falling for this lacks a basic understanding of technology, and should not be near the Internet unsupervised until they do. Regardless of age - plenty of young folk blindly walking into shit too.

If you know people like this - please teach them. If you can't teach them, at least set them up with foolproof tools. A non-chromium browser and ublock origin is a good start. If you've got the know-how, a DNSBL like a pihole (for whole home blocking) or adaway/blokada (for Android) are good additional layers.

And get their data backed up 😬

[–] Treczoks@lemmy.world 8 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Could someone just copy the clipboard content into a text editor so one could see what they are trying to do?

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[–] barnaclebutt@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago

I think the problem starts with the windows key.

[–] vk6flab@lemmy.radio 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

URL?

Knowing what it's doing would be useful and people who have the ability to reverse engineer this can work on a fix or filter.

[–] UnH1ng3d@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago (8 children)

motorandwheels(dot)com

  • I think it would be best if it isn't clickable

I've also noticed, it doesn't always come up but let me know if it does for you.

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