Scareware

What is scareware?

This is a scam whereby a computer user receives a pop up telling them that their computer may be infected by a virus and scaring them into buying some software to remove it. The anti-virus software could be malware or not function.

According to Symantec, 43 million people fell for these scareware scams between July 2008 and July 2009. The full report, Symantec Report on Rogue Security Software can be downloaded here http://eval.symantec.com/mktginfo/enterprise/white_papers/b-symc_report_on_rogue_security_software_WP_20100385.en-us.pdf

They are designed by criminals to look genuine. Symantec’s report lists the top reported rogue security software.

1. Spyware Guard 2008
2. AntiVirus 2008
3. AntiVirus 2009
4. Spyware Secure
5. XPAntivirus
6. WinFixer
7. SafeStrip
8. Error Repair
9. Internet Antivirus
10. DriveCleaner

If you are worried about scareware, virus, malware please contact your IT Support helpdesk.