Someone from your friends list sent you a link and you clicked on it and opened the file and now your steam account has been compromised. There are a few things you can do up front as soon as it happens to cure the problem and as preventative steps to make sure it doesn't happen again in the future.
As soon as you click the link, it will download a file, usually an image with the file type .scr DELETE IT IMMEDIATELY AND DO NOT OPEN IT!.
If you stopped right there you should be alright and nothing will happen. It is still a good idea to do a full virus scan of your computer though and to change your passwords asap.
You should consider making a drop box post to let leadership know what happened so they can warn the other members in the community or at the very least tell someone you know on the forums what happened or better yet, if you are able to get in TS, speak up and tell others not to click the link. Don't feel embarrassed, it happens, but doing nothing and allowing other members to fall into the trap is even worse.
If you didn't stop there and tried to open the file, you are infected and probably catching flak from your friends for sending them a weird link that they know is not good. This is how it spreads and will continue to spread for as long as it is able too.
1. If you haven't already, you need to delete the file you downloaded and then run a full virus scan.
2. Didn't find anything? Update your definitions for your antivirus and run it again.
3. Still nothing? Download MalwareBytes and run a full scan. Found something? delete it!
4. Found nothing? Download TDSSKiller and run it. Found something? DELETE IT!
I know that last part is a little over kill, but you have spent a lot of money on steam and some of you even have very valuable items you don't want to get stolen or worse have your saved credit cards used. It is worth the hassle now of making sure you are clear rather then dealing with Steam support and your bank later on trying to get it all worked out.
If you are at this point then you should be alright to change your passwords and learn your lesson, then get back to doing what you were doing. But don't leave just yet the next part is just as important.
There are a lot of ways to prevent this sort of thing from happening again. Most should be common practice from here on out but some are more for a worst case scenario e.g Having your account stolen.
1. If you get a link from ANYONE that looks funny to you in any way shape or form use virustotal.com it will scan the link and tell you if there is anything in there that can harm you. Even then sometimes it will return that it is all clear. Use your best judgement, if it looks funny or is out of character for that person who sent the message, do not click on it.
2. Always make sure you have the latest definitions for whatever type of antivirus you are using. It will make it easier on you and your antivirus to catch a mistake you made before it can do any damage.
3. It is good for you and your steam account to have Steam Guard on and to link it to an email service that has different password from your steam account and uses 2 step verification. It will make it even harder for someone to steal your account since they need to get to a confirmation email to make any changes to your account and most of the time they will just give up. You can check Steam Guard by going to the settings in the steam client.
4. In most web browsers in the settings under the downloads section you will find a box or radial that you can click that will say "Ask where to save each file before downloading" or something along those general lines. It will prevent any of the links roaming around steam from just automatically downloading anything without you noticing and can usually prevent the majority of anything bad happening in the first place.
This last one is mostly for the worst case scenario but it does happen and being prepared for it will make it easier on you and valve to get things right and back to the way they were.
5. Games on steam come with a CD-KEY that you can view from your library. Take and write a few of them down and keep them in a safe place. If you registered your account and have used a physical copy of a game to add to steam, keep that key safe. Being able to take a picture of the key and send it to them is usually what they will take over any sort of argument about account ownership but being able to give them keys to specific games goes a long way to recovering an account.
I hope this helps some of you avoid some trouble or help you get out of any trouble you may have gotten yourself into. If you need me for anything at all you can add me HERE or come find me in TS. I will always find time to help if I can. If i'm not around you can always find Firehazard HERE or in TS as well.
As soon as you click the link, it will download a file, usually an image with the file type .scr DELETE IT IMMEDIATELY AND DO NOT OPEN IT!.
If you stopped right there you should be alright and nothing will happen. It is still a good idea to do a full virus scan of your computer though and to change your passwords asap.
Cleaning up the mess
Special Note:
You should consider making a drop box post to let leadership know what happened so they can warn the other members in the community or at the very least tell someone you know on the forums what happened or better yet, if you are able to get in TS, speak up and tell others not to click the link. Don't feel embarrassed, it happens, but doing nothing and allowing other members to fall into the trap is even worse.
If you didn't stop there and tried to open the file, you are infected and probably catching flak from your friends for sending them a weird link that they know is not good. This is how it spreads and will continue to spread for as long as it is able too.
1. If you haven't already, you need to delete the file you downloaded and then run a full virus scan.
2. Didn't find anything? Update your definitions for your antivirus and run it again.
3. Still nothing? Download MalwareBytes and run a full scan. Found something? delete it!
4. Found nothing? Download TDSSKiller and run it. Found something? DELETE IT!
I know that last part is a little over kill, but you have spent a lot of money on steam and some of you even have very valuable items you don't want to get stolen or worse have your saved credit cards used. It is worth the hassle now of making sure you are clear rather then dealing with Steam support and your bank later on trying to get it all worked out.
If you are at this point then you should be alright to change your passwords and learn your lesson, then get back to doing what you were doing. But don't leave just yet the next part is just as important.
PREVENTION
There are a lot of ways to prevent this sort of thing from happening again. Most should be common practice from here on out but some are more for a worst case scenario e.g Having your account stolen.
1. If you get a link from ANYONE that looks funny to you in any way shape or form use virustotal.com it will scan the link and tell you if there is anything in there that can harm you. Even then sometimes it will return that it is all clear. Use your best judgement, if it looks funny or is out of character for that person who sent the message, do not click on it.
2. Always make sure you have the latest definitions for whatever type of antivirus you are using. It will make it easier on you and your antivirus to catch a mistake you made before it can do any damage.
3. It is good for you and your steam account to have Steam Guard on and to link it to an email service that has different password from your steam account and uses 2 step verification. It will make it even harder for someone to steal your account since they need to get to a confirmation email to make any changes to your account and most of the time they will just give up. You can check Steam Guard by going to the settings in the steam client.
4. In most web browsers in the settings under the downloads section you will find a box or radial that you can click that will say "Ask where to save each file before downloading" or something along those general lines. It will prevent any of the links roaming around steam from just automatically downloading anything without you noticing and can usually prevent the majority of anything bad happening in the first place.
This last one is mostly for the worst case scenario but it does happen and being prepared for it will make it easier on you and valve to get things right and back to the way they were.
5. Games on steam come with a CD-KEY that you can view from your library. Take and write a few of them down and keep them in a safe place. If you registered your account and have used a physical copy of a game to add to steam, keep that key safe. Being able to take a picture of the key and send it to them is usually what they will take over any sort of argument about account ownership but being able to give them keys to specific games goes a long way to recovering an account.
I hope this helps some of you avoid some trouble or help you get out of any trouble you may have gotten yourself into. If you need me for anything at all you can add me HERE or come find me in TS. I will always find time to help if I can. If i'm not around you can always find Firehazard HERE or in TS as well.
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