Beware of fake anti-virus software scams

[Jules2408]

Beware of the fake anti-virus software scams

More and more computer users are falling victim to fake anti-virus software scams.

Fake antivirus scams are intended to alert computer users with exaggerated displays of virus activity. They’ve been around for years however they are rapidly becoming a top threat to those who use the internet.

Scammers often use the names of well-known companies that specialise in computer software to gain your trust. The pop up advertisements aim to mimic genuine warning alerts generated by computer security software.

If your security isn't up to date, you can be infected simply by visiting a rogue site. However, it's far more common for victims to be tricked into actually installing the malware themselves.

Fake antivirus scams send you a Windows pop up which looks legitimate, stating that your computer is infected and suggesting that you either accept an important "update," scan your system for threats, or take some other action.

If an anti-virus program pops up on your screen do not accept or continue with the download. Simply close the page and browse elsewhere. By following through with the download, it will install a fake antivirus software program which will steal your personal information along with harming your computer’s performance.

Some of these scams are not pop ups as such but entire site pages that suggest you have certain viruses on your machine accompanied by advice that you click on a link provided to remove the threat from your machine. Beware as some of these phony sites are designed to look like they have originated from MICROSOFT or legitimate anti -virus software companies. It's the internet so anything that can be created by a legitimate site can be easily copied by rogues. A check of the internet address of course shows this not to be the case. Click on one of these links and you will be allowing these rogues to install software to track and read everything you do online and to identify logins and passwords to any sites you use including your online banking, your entire credit card details etc etc. Ultimately you are also seting yourself up for identity theft, credit card fraud and theft of your savings.

Furthermore, not only should windows users be aware of this issue, Mac users must also be cautious as well. Apple offers the following advice to Mac users:

Never download unlicensed or "pirated" software from the Internet.
Accept only applications you receive from a known and trusted source.
Run an antivirus program if you find any suspicious files or applications, or if you notice any suspicious files or applications, or if you notice any suspicious behaviour on your computer.
To reduce the amount of exposure to harmful applications or files, limit the number of administrator accounts you create. Consider creating a user account for your daily work and use the administrator account when you need to install software or administer accounts.

Below are some warming signs to look out for and how you can better protect yourself.
Warning Signs

You can be hit with pop-up alerts even when you're not online
Pop ups can be extremely similar to a normal windows screen
Scammers who persist you buy the software straight away
Broken or oddly phrased English is used or in some case scammers are using technical jargon to try and trick users
Common phrases used "your computer is infected" or "warning - multiple threats found", just ignore these pop-ups and exit that browser.

How to protect yourself

Never click on the actual pop-up browser as that will allow the malicious software to be installed into your computer, rather click control + alt + delete and close it from the task manager
Regularly update your anti-virus software with registered products and do not just rely upon free anti virus software available on line because you are too tight to pay for a full and comprehensive security suite.
Use a good firewall program
Never open spam emails or suspicious pop-ups

Finally beware of the Telephone Virus Scammmers.
These rogues (often people with an Indian accent) phone up home numbers at random telling people that Microsoft has advised them that it has identified that you have serious viruses on your home computer and that they have been contracted by Microsoft to assist users to have the viruses removed. If you fall for this line, they will ask you to start your computer , open their website and download a program to remove the virus that was never there in the first place. Of course with this scam, their program is designed to track your activity, steal your information and take control of your computer. If you are contacted by one of these con artists tell them to "b#gger off" and hang up. However these people are persistent and you can expect to be contacted by them again until they finally give up on you.

[Collette]

thanks for the advise

[atomichybrid]

It's not just antivirus scams, there are people out there who claim to be contracted with Microsoft and notice that your computer is full of errors, they phone call you first and give some bull#$%& to make you believe that they're working for Microsoft and ask you to install some software so that they can remote desktop and show you where most of your errors are. Then ask for money to fix the problem which requires credit card details and all that crap. Dont be fooled, they will pressure you into giving details, make some excuse why you should get them to help you (which they wont, my guess is that they install some program that will watch or listen to keystrokes and all the other weird shenanigans). Microsoft will never phone call you to say that you computer is slow because of errors, they're much to busy developing software or whatever than monitoring most of the world's PC users around the globe.

Another piece of information that may be helpful.

[~Darkseeker~]

Originally Posted by atomichybrid

It's not just antivirus scams, there are people out there who claim to be contracted with Microsoft and notice that your computer is full of errors, they phone call you first and give some bull#$%& to make you believe that they're working for Microsoft and ask you to install some software so that they can remote desktop and show you where most of your errors are. Then ask for money to fix the problem which requires credit card details and all that crap. Dont be fooled, they will pressure you into giving details, make some excuse why you should get them to help you (which they wont, my guess is that they install some program that will watch or listen to keystrokes and all the other weird shenanigans). Microsoft will never phone call you to say that you computer is slow because of errors, they're much to busy developing software or whatever than monitoring most of the world's PC users around the globe.

Another piece of information that may be helpful.

In addition to what you said, they often ask you to install Ammyy Admin, which is a perfectly legitimate piece of software, but they use it to basically ruin your digital life xD

[Comp_Pro]

Just tell them you have a mac or tell them you use linux. That's what I did when one of them called and told me they were calling from "windows"

[atomichybrid]

Originally Posted by Comp_Pro

Just tell them you have a mac or tell them you use linux. That's what I did when one of them called and told me they were calling from "windows"

Hehe thats exactly what I said and it totally flip them upsidedown.

[Card]

I once got infected by a rogue antivirus software. Placed so many popups on my screen so I had to boot up in safe mode and remove it there.
Seriously, are some people really believing those are real softwares?

[jawa336]

What antivirus software do you recommend? I use MS Security Essentials and scan with Malwarebytes and TDSSKiller. I also have Norton installed, but want to remove it because I've noticed that my computers preformance has been slowing down. My computer's up to date, I've cleaned it all up, but it's still not as fast as it was before Norton was installed.

Is Security Essentials enough, or should I get some other antivirus program to go along with it?

[clacker]

This is why I don't get anti virus from the internet. These scammers know that the people that are downloading the "anti virus" has no protection, I buy from a shop and always use Norton because I know I can trust it.

[iPwn]

Originally Posted by Card

Seriously, are some people really believing those are real softwares?

Your average computer user believes what they see on their screen...

Originally Posted by jawa336

What antivirus software do you recommend? I use MS Security Essentials and scan with Malwarebytes and TDSSKiller. I also have Norton installed, but want to remove it because I've noticed that my computers preformance has been slowing down. My computer's up to date, I've cleaned it all up, but it's still not as fast as it was before Norton was installed.

Is Security Essentials enough, or should I get some other antivirus program to go along with it?

I've heard that MS Security Essentials is pretty decent. Scanning with MBAM and TDSSKiller is a good practice as well. You're going to find that your taste in AV software is like your taste in Coffee. Everyone prefers different levels and types of interaction with the Software whereas others are on the opposite side of the spectrum not using AV software at all. And to each person, it works for them... I personally recommend Comodo, but also understand it's not for everyone as it's not really a 'background' program basically meaning there's a great number of 'popups' that you have to administer.

Originally Posted by clacker

This is why I don't get anti virus from the internet. These scammers know that the people that are downloading the "anti virus" has no protection, I buy from a shop and always use Norton because I know I can trust it.

Purchasing software from a shop pretty much always ensures that you're going to get a tested AV suite that has some level of company support. Many of the boxed AV suites also have a guarantee that comes with them in the event your computer does become infected. As for Norton, again it's all about personal preference. Some see an unacceptable drop in performance where others do not. I have also heard that this has become less noticeable in the newer releases of the software package.

_____________________

To me, it's all about using something that is reviewed. When downloading any type of software off the internet, I always do a Google search for the "Top Ten X software" and you can always find some great charts with features and benefits listed. x.toptenreviews.com is a great place to see some comparatives of different software packages in their respective categories.