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Fake Anti-Virus Programs A Growing Threat

A recent Google study found that fake anti-virus programs account for 15% of all malicious software. The scenario usually plays out in this way: Scammers create websites that contain lots of information concerning the "hot topic of the day," such as Michael Jackson's death or the latest natural disaster. This may cause their malicious websites to appear on the first page of search results for sites like Google, Bing, and Yahoo. When a user clicks on a link to one of the scammer's websites, a pop-up window appears informing the user that a virus or other piece of malware is present on their computer, and recommends that the user install a program to remove the malware. As soon as the user installs the fake anti-virus program, they have just infected their computer with malware that steals their personal data and can install other malicious programs onto their computer.

Get familiar with your own anti-virus program that you should already have installed on your computer. Be suspicious if a pop-up window (that isn't part of your own anti-virus program) tells you that you need to download something extra in order to remove a virus.