Fake AntiMalware

Thousands upon thousands of people have been infected with fake (rogue) anti-malware. As Alex Eckelberry illustrates here and here, one source of confusion is the results in Google searches. Others are fooled by phishing emails and others when visiting an infected site.

What, you ask, is wrong with XP Antivirus or Antivirus XP or any of the over 400 applications listed in the RogueNET™ Detection List? Find out in Microsoft MVP Jesper M. Johansson's illustrated article, Anatomy of a malware scam. The particular intallation Jesper illustrates is a scam that too many people have fallen for over the years. Other rogues have an even greater payload, including stealing data, installing additional malware, or remote control to make the infected machine a part of a botnet.

At the end of Jesper's article are key points to keep in mind when surfing the web or looking for antivirus or anti-malware software. Some examples:

• be extremely careful what you trust
• question everything that looks even remotely suspicious
• no website can run an anti-malware scan on your computer simply by your visiting the site
• no software that pushes the purchase decision so heavily in your face is likely to be legitimate
  

Enough of my words. It is time for you to read Jesper's article --> Anatomy of a malware scam.

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