PandaLabs recently published a report detailing how fake antivirus programs have become a serious threat to internet users.
According to PandaLabs they had about a 1.000 samples of these kind of programs registered over a year ago. Since then this number has grown to a staggering 374.000. PandaLabs has determined that 3-5% of all computers scanned with their own security program are actually infected with fake antivirus programs. From those results they estimate that as many as 35 million computers are getting infected every month with fake antivirus programs.
In a previous post I describe what fake antivirus programs really are and what they do and you can read about it here. PandaLabs believe that about 3% of all the people who see a fake warning message buy into it and pay around $50 for the fake antivirus program.
If you get a warning (assuming it does not come from your own antivirus program), it will most likely always be a fake. No legitimate antivirus program will never scan your computer without asking first.
Please go here for all your internet security needs.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Security flaw in Firefox 3.5 fixed
A few days ago a critical security flaw was discovered in the newly released version 3.5 of the popular internet browser Firefox. Fortunately the people behind Firefox were quick to respond and an update is now available, that fixes the error.
The error was in the JIT (Just-In-Time) JavaScript engine of the browser and made it possible to install malware on an unsuspecting user's computer.
So if you are running Firefox 3.5 and have automatic updates disabled, you should manually update the browser as soon as possible.
The error was in the JIT (Just-In-Time) JavaScript engine of the browser and made it possible to install malware on an unsuspecting user's computer.
So if you are running Firefox 3.5 and have automatic updates disabled, you should manually update the browser as soon as possible.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Virus scam
Virus scam software is a program that is advertised as antivirus software, while in fact it is quit the opposite. The purpose of these programs are two fold:
It is also very common to become a victim of a virus scam through an email. Lots of virus scams come from e-mails, that claim a new computer virus has been dicovered. The message may also make reference to well known and established companies, to make it seem more trustworthy. There will be an attachment to the e-mail, which contains the virus scam program or fake antivirus if you will. The message will try to convince you to run the file.
Such e-mails play on peoples fear of spyware and viruses and since a lot of people are at a loss if their computer gets infected, the virus scam will often succeed.
Of cause you can also become a victim of a virus scam simply by looking for a new antivirus program on the internet and be unfortunate enough to download a fake program.
Antivirus is something we all need, so its a huge market and easy to target, because many people wont know the difference between a virus scam program or a regular antivirus program. So if you are about to download an antivirus program you dont already know, always do a search for it first. If it is a virus scam you will quickly find evidence of it.
- Get you to pay for the software
- Let the program install more viruses and spyware on you computer
It is also very common to become a victim of a virus scam through an email. Lots of virus scams come from e-mails, that claim a new computer virus has been dicovered. The message may also make reference to well known and established companies, to make it seem more trustworthy. There will be an attachment to the e-mail, which contains the virus scam program or fake antivirus if you will. The message will try to convince you to run the file.
Such e-mails play on peoples fear of spyware and viruses and since a lot of people are at a loss if their computer gets infected, the virus scam will often succeed.
Of cause you can also become a victim of a virus scam simply by looking for a new antivirus program on the internet and be unfortunate enough to download a fake program.
Antivirus is something we all need, so its a huge market and easy to target, because many people wont know the difference between a virus scam program or a regular antivirus program. So if you are about to download an antivirus program you dont already know, always do a search for it first. If it is a virus scam you will quickly find evidence of it.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
The W32/Netsky Worm
This worm is a persistant one. Statistics reveal 100-200.000 infections per month during the last year and there is no sign of it slowing down.
The worm goes by several names depending on which security program you use:
Email-Worm.Win32.NetSky.x
I-Worm.NetSky.x
W32/Netsky.w.eml!exe
Win32.HLLM.Netsky.based
Win32/Netsky.W@mm
Worm/Netsky.W.1
W32/Netsky.W@mm
Win32.Netsky.W@mm
W32/Netsky.W.worm
You get it through attachments to an email and once it has infected your PC it spreads to others by emailing itself to all the contacts in your address book. The attachment itselft is always a 24kb file, so if you get a file with that exact size and a weird looking name, you should be cautious. Also the email message is prewritten and will be something that entices the user to open the attachment.
It is easy to see if you have it because it saves itself in your windows directory as "VisualGuard.exe", so just do a search for that filename.
Netsky doesn't need your email program to spread further, because it uses the build-in SMTP engine.
There is another but fortunately more rare variant know as Win32.Netsky.Q. This is a virus that generates fake security alerts and tries to get the user to perform a free scan using a fake security program. The purpose is to make the user purchase this program, which will simply add more malware to the PC.
The worm goes by several names depending on which security program you use:
Email-Worm.Win32.NetSky.x
I-Worm.NetSky.x
W32/Netsky.w.eml!exe
Win32.HLLM.Netsky.based
Win32/Netsky.W@mm
Worm/Netsky.W.1
W32/Netsky.W@mm
Win32.Netsky.W@mm
W32/Netsky.W.worm
You get it through attachments to an email and once it has infected your PC it spreads to others by emailing itself to all the contacts in your address book. The attachment itselft is always a 24kb file, so if you get a file with that exact size and a weird looking name, you should be cautious. Also the email message is prewritten and will be something that entices the user to open the attachment.
It is easy to see if you have it because it saves itself in your windows directory as "VisualGuard.exe", so just do a search for that filename.
Netsky doesn't need your email program to spread further, because it uses the build-in SMTP engine.
There is another but fortunately more rare variant know as Win32.Netsky.Q. This is a virus that generates fake security alerts and tries to get the user to perform a free scan using a fake security program. The purpose is to make the user purchase this program, which will simply add more malware to the PC.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Free Spyware Removal Tools
Sometimes it is too late to install a security solution on your PC. Lots of malware today is very intelligent and take control of the infected PC to such an extent, that thay can actually block an installation of antivirus, anti spyware, etc.
Fortunately there are spyware removal tools that are tailor made to specific infections and they can often be downloaded completely free for use in an emergency situation like this. They is definately worth trying if your PC is infected. Especially if the only alternative is a complete reinstall of your operating system.
ESET has a list of spyware removal tools such as these available from their website. You can find them here.
Fortunately there are spyware removal tools that are tailor made to specific infections and they can often be downloaded completely free for use in an emergency situation like this. They is definately worth trying if your PC is infected. Especially if the only alternative is a complete reinstall of your operating system.
ESET has a list of spyware removal tools such as these available from their website. You can find them here.
NOD32 download and review
Hi, Aage here.
Just wanted to say that I downloaded a new security program for my computer a couple of weeks ago. I have put together a short review of the program NOD32 Smart Security. You can read the review here.
Just wanted to say that I downloaded a new security program for my computer a couple of weeks ago. I have put together a short review of the program NOD32 Smart Security. You can read the review here.
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