Got hit with a fake ransomware popup at a coffee shop last week

I was working on my laptop at a Starbucks in Austin when a full-screen alert popped up saying my files were encrypted, but I noticed the URL was misspelled and just force-quit the browser instead of calling the number, and it turned out to be a malicious ad - has anyone else run into these fake alerts on public Wi-Fi?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_henry1mo ago

Closed the browser and cleared my cache right after.

jennifer_west1mo ago

Right, that's exactly what I used to think was overkill but honestly you might have just changed my mind. I mean I always figured once you close the browser you're good to go, like that's the whole point of closing it. But then I think about all those tabs I have open and how much junk they're keeping track of in the background even after they're "closed." Clearing the cache too though, that's the step I always skip and I bet that's where all the little tracking crumbs are hiding.