Beware of Fake Security Software

08/22/2009

The latest tactic being used to install a virus, malware or spyware on your computer is to get you to fall for a legitimate-looking fake alert, saying a virus has been detected on your computer. The fake alert usually comes in a pop-up that informs you to click to download the “cure” for the virus, and when you do, you just installed the virus. This was not accomplished with high-tech coding, but with the use of good old-fashioned social engineering. I’ve seen numerous infected computers in the past six months that were infected by the unaware user. Here are my recommendations.

1.       Know what anti-virus and anti-spyware programs you have on your computer and know what they look like.

2.       Learn what legitimate Microsoft Security warnings look like.

3.       Don’t be click happy! What I mean is, simply stop and think before you click and download any software that wasn’t initiated by you. Open a browser and do a Google search on the program that is being suggested. A little research will tell you if it’s legit or not.

If I fall for this trick, what will the virus do? Once the “fake” security program or virus is installed, it will simulate a virus scan and tell you that you have a number of viruses on your computer. You will then be informed that it will require you to purchase a software upgrade to remove the viruses. The price for this upgrade will range from $39 to $79, and you get absolutely nothing for your money. All you’ve done is given your money and your credit card number to a thief. If you keep using the infected computer it will begin downloading other viruses that will continue to infect your computer and perform other devious functions such as serving SPAM, pornographic images, and viruses to other unsuspecting computer users all over the world. So, what should you do if you downloaded the virus?

1.       Disconnect the computer from the internet to keep from downloading more viruses.

2.       Call your local computer repair shop for assistance. Naturally I recommend www.bestbytepc.com.

3.       In many cases, if a professional diagnoses the problem before the computer gets infected further, the virus can be removed. If you delay and the virus continues to download more viruses and possibly a worm or root-kit, your hard drive will more than likely need to be reformatted and the operating system will have to be reinstalled. This service, along with data backup, can be quite costly.

Below are a few examples of what these fake alerts and fake programs look like. Keep in mind that there a hundreds of these programs out there and it would be impossible to list them all, but some of the most common ones are: Antivirus 2008, 2009, 2010, Personal AV, Antivirus XP 2009, Vista Antivirus 2009, and System Security. These all look legit, but they aren’t.