Scott Drinkard

What Is Scareware? Your Computer Is Infected! Windows Has Detected Spyware Infection!



Posted: Saturday, May 01, 2010

by Scott Drinkard
The Computer Guy

Scareware is probably the most widespread internet security threat in existence today. Also known as fake alert or rogue antivirus, it is usually associated with the Trojan Vundo virus. This malware is designed to scare or bully a user with an infected PC into purchasing a bogus antivirus product. The scammers use "social engineering" tactics to trick an internet user to downloading their "product". These tactics usually are in the form of a pop-up from certain web pages warning the user of "potential threats" on their computer and offering to run a "Free" scan. When the unsuspecting user clicks the OK button, the malware is downloaded and installed on the computer.

Once the malware is on the machine, it seizes control of the user's PC and starts causing erratic behavior and displaying scary messages such as " Your computer is infected! Windows has detected spyware infection! " . These fake warning messages attempt to convince the victim that their computer is infected and offers to remove the threats (for a fee, of course!). Over time (sometimes a very short time), the infected PC's performance will degrade significantly and very often become virtually unusable. Common symptoms of a scareware or Trojan Vundo infection include internet browsers being redirected to websites run by the scammers, inability to update or run legitimate antivirus software, inability to access Windows utilities such as MSConfig or RegEdit, inability to open control panel and a generalized and sometimes severe degradation of overall performance.

Removing scareware can be difficult once it has infected a PC. Because it uses sophisticated mechanisms to hide and protect itself from removal, many times the assistance of an experienced PC technician will be required to completely rid the computer of the Vundo infection. The good news is, though, that a user's personal data such as photos and documents are rarely damaged by the scareware infection and can be recovered completely. Again, if you are at all concerned with the loss of your data, you should seek the help of an experienced technician.

Internet users should be aware of this threat since it is so prevalent and should take the necessary steps to protect their computer. The best protection from this type of internet security threat is education. Understanding how these scammers work will help users recognize the common "booby traps" and avoid them. Random pop-ups offering "free" anything are suspect and should always be viewed as a potential threat.

Also, I cannot overstate the importance of a good (and reputable) Internet Security program. Your Internet Security program should be kept up to date with the latest virus definitions and should be enabled and running at all times when your computer is running. The only one I HIGHLY recommend is AVG Internet Security. It has a very comprehensive set of features to protect against these types of threats and it will not slow down your computer's performance like many of the other security products. You can learn more about this outstanding product and see why I recommend it so highly.

In conclusion, it is important to remember that if you ever see a pop-up warning you of virus or spyware infections on your computer, it is very likely a scam. You should not respond to these types of warnings unless, of course, the warning is generated by your legitimate Internet Security software.

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Scott Drinkard is a freelance computer repair and networking technician living and working in Odessa, Texas. As the owner of Odessa based "The Computer Guy" Mr. Drinkard has been serving the fine people of West Texas for 12 years. You can read more by Mr. Drinkard by visiting www.odessacomputerguy.net.
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