Detect Fake Antivirus Software and Spyware Removal Programs | Antivirus

Ultimately, a malicious computer virus, Trojan horse, or serious adware infection can occur. These issues plague both experienced and novice computer users, and the only sign that something is wrong might be that a strange ad window automatically pops up when you browse the Internet or your computer slows down to annoying scans. Many people who encounter these problems automatically turn to the Internet for free or paid antivirus software. There have been many articles on MUO covering various free antivirus or anti-spyware tools such as the Spyware Terminator review. However, since many people turn to the Internet when such a tragedy occurs, I would like to take a moment,

How Does Fake Antivirus Work?

The irony of these fake replacement software packages is that while they promote and advertise themselves as a product that will help you raise malicious software from your computer, at the time of downloading and installing you have just been infected with one of the worst Trojans that you can be on your computer. Once it is installed, you start getting pop-ups that say you are terribly infected and click on a specific link so that you can download the full version of antivirus software to thoroughly clean your computer. The other version is legitimate antivirus software and forges a "full system scan", which results in a long list of horrible viruses and other nasty-looking infections. However, when you click delete, you are told that you only have a trial version and that you need to buy the full version to remove viruses. Few people realize that the scan results are fake.

Best Antivirus and Spyware to Remove Like the Plague

In late 2008, ComputerWorld reported how the latest version of Microsoft's Malicious Software Removal Tool (MSRT) detected and removed Antivirus 2009 from reported 394,000 computers in just the first nine days of its release. This shows that the scammers who write this fake software successfully exploit the computer users' fear of computer infections and their lack of computer knowledge. 

1. The infamous 2009 antivirus

Antivirus 2009 (and Antivirus 10 or Antivirus 360) is so well known as malware these days that you most likely won't find scammers using legitimate websites to promote a product using its actual name, scammers resort to customization instead. sites to help people remove Antivirus 2009. If a user clicks the link, downloads and installs the software, he or she will be infected with malware.

"Removing" viruses from your computer entails the registration (and payment) of the full version of the software. If you fall into this particular trap, all you end up with is charging your credit card and bogus software. Fortunately, there are many sites online now that tell people how to remove this particular Trojan. Unfortunately, many websites are created by scammers posing as "Antivirus 2009 removal tool" while they are just installing and running the same fake software. How do you distinguish between legit and fake sites? Check out list number 7 on Aibek's core security downloads list

The Web of Trust is a great tool for identifying dangerous fake antivirus sites.

2. Conficker Worm installs Spyware Protect 2009

Do you remember the recent Conficker fiasco, when IT pros across the country fought to fix computers before they could get infected? Well, an April 10, 2009 article from CNET reports that investigators have finally understood the motives behind the creators of the Conficker worm. Obviously, the motive is to make money with fake antivirus software, and they tried to do this by installing the Conficker worm on the Spyware Protect 2009 antivirus software on target computers.

The technique used is essentially the same as other fake antivirus applications. The software provides users with a list of malware infections that their computer claims to have, and the only way to remove them is to visit the website and provide their credit card details to buy the full version. Apparently, the whole point of the Conficker worm was just another fake antivirus scam. Obviously, if your computer ever displays the window above, you are probably infected with the Conficker worm.

3.PC AntiSpy Returns Fake Spyware Results

Another application that returns bogus results in which some of the more famous spyware infect your computer is PC AntiSpy, a fake anti-spyware application that has nothing to do with it. Rather than helping you keep your computer clean, this application uses intimidation tactics to trick users into clicking a link to pay for a PC version of AntiSpy, which can remove malicious spyware that supposedly exists on the computer.

As you can see, some of these software packages seem to be quite reputable and legitimate. Accidentally, the only real functionality they have is performing as a Trojan. Like many other fake apps like this one, many helpful websites and forums post instructions on how to remove them. Scammers are getting more cunning - they too start their own “how” web page to target people who are already infected and are looking for help.

4. WinDefender - a class of fake antivirus and spyware removal software

Another significant group of antivirus applications are those that try to copy the names of legitimate, well-known applications. These applications depend on computer users who are not tech-savvy and do not know exactly what legitimate software is called. Another example of this is WinDefender trying to copy Windows Defender.

The success of these applications stems from the fact that many people are actually fooled by the similarity of application names to legitimate antivirus software. The most important rule to follow when you are looking for good antivirus or anti-spyware software is to the only shop on sites that you know are reputable. Whenever an anti-virus advertisement suddenly appears on your computer screen, you should never click the "Run Scan" link.

Final Words - Use Caution and Common Sense

There is nothing to suggest that you only need to use Norton or Symantec for your antivirus tasks, but if you are going to work and try other software companies, you must understand the legitimacy and integrity of that company. The examples above are just four out of hundreds of fake antivirus and anti-spyware applications, and their names change as quickly as people can figure out they are fake. If you need advice for legitimate antivirus software, check out the 2008 Aibek poll where MUO users selected the best antivirus software available.

Have you ever been infected with fake antivirus Trojans? What was it, and how hard was it to clear it from the computer? Share your experience in the comments section below.