WhiteSmoke? OutFox?

[Guest]

Attempting to open a video from IE, I got a message to update Flash Player. After installation the browser brought up White Smoke as the Home page and a sidebar for OutFox. I uninstalled OutFox but could not find WhiteSmoke. Now, whenever I enter anything, I get a separate screen, "Update recommended!", which I am suspicious of and exit from. The first question is, was the Flash Player installation prompt legit or a fake? The second is, how do I get rid of WhiteSmoke? The third is about that Update Recommended prompt. Thanks!

[C_F_McBlob]

The first question is, was the Flash Player installation prompt legit or a fake?  

It was definitely fake. The ONLY products Adobe ever bundles with Flash Player, Shockwave or Reader are McAffee Security Scan, Norton Security, Google Chrome &Toolbar, and Lightroom 5 [30 day trial (Mac)]

The second is, how do I get rid of WhiteSmoke?

I'd recommend TDSSKiller from Kaspersky. If that can't find it, you may have to do a system restore. If you can't do that, call a local shop to see what they recommend.

The third is about that Update Recommended prompt.

You probably already had "adware" which created the prompt.

As a rule:  if you EVER see an update notice in a webpage or popup, and it leads ANYWHERE that doesn't have "adobe.com" in the address, steer clear of it. Come here and download whatever it's telling you that you need.

I ALWAYS update everything manually, but you're safer updating through the updater for the app or Windows update than from a popup in a webpage.