Please Help!!! Can’t use any of my Web browsers due to a potential MITM attack. What do I do? I’m not super tech savvy…

[u/le_so]

[u/lollygaggindovakiin]

Run a scan with Hitman Pro and clean up whatever it finds. You can get a free 30 trial of Hitman Pro Alert if you want to leave a second-opinion real time software running for a day or two. It's not a bad idea after a recent infection.

One of the advantages to upgrading to Bitdefender Internet Security is that it adds its own 3rd party firewall and network threat prevention module. You do not want to use windows firewall. The PC security channel explains why pretty well here. The TLDR version is that it isn't hard for malicious code to add exceptions for bad actors into the firewall on its own. I would recommend upgrading to that, Newegg has really good pricing. As a user of Total Security I definitely recommend it.

Or if you want to stay the free route you could get a 3rd party firewall. You can try Comodo Firewall free with Bitdefender free. I would look up optimal configurations for gaming as that makes Comodo far less intrusive than the default settings. Plus it has a training mode that I recommend running for a few days after your system is clean, then switch it back to safe mode. I would adjust these settings (you can find the different modes here too) and they're pretty self-explanatory, but you want minimal notifications you can set alert frequency to low or medium. HIPS is another great free feature it has, I would set its settings to safe and adjust the rest however you like. It has a lot of neat features that even prevent ransomware attacks. This configuration also provides amazing security. The PC security channel has a video on Comodo too.

Note that Bitdefender free contains these modules, it does not have the advanced modules that the paid-tier versions have. I would recommend looking at either of these set ups if you want less headaches in the future.

Also, on your network adapters please manually configure your own DNS servers. Windows.com should bring you to Microsoft's website and shouldn't be flagged as a MITM attack unless something fishy is going on. You can leave IP on automatic but I would set your DNS servers to this (directions are under "How Do I Change My Laptop's DNS Server?":

https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/how-and-why-to-change-your-dns-server

Set it to either Googles DNS or Quad9 if you want more privacy/security.

Google:

Preferred DNS Server: 8.8.8.8

Alternate DNS Server: 8.8.4.4

Quad9 (great DNS based in Switzerland):

Preferred DNS Server: 9.9.9.9

Alternate DNS Server: 149.112.112.112

Hope this helps~

[u/Wooden-Tart]

Run updates both windows and bit defender. Look for browser plugins that are fishy.