WARNING AntiVirus Update SCAM

[dave.m]

Sorry for duplicating this but not everyone may read the Software Fourms.

WARNING

Just received an email offering 'Latest Updates for AntiVirus 2009'.

If you receive this spam/scam DELETE IT. Do not open it or follow any links in it.

For your info:
Antivirus 2009 is a new rogue anti-spyware program. It is also a clone of Antivirus 2008 - also a rogue, and one that's produced more clones than any other recently. The list of these clones is long: System Antivirus 2008, Ultimate Antivirus 2008, Vista Antivirus 2008, XP Antivirus 2008 etc.

dave

 

[breezer]

how do we know its not a fake virus scam?

 

[disinfo]

how do we know its not a fake virus scam?

Download it and run it on your system and let us know

 

[tim west]

Is a fake virus worse than a normal one?

 

[breezer]

well i would download it if i knew what it is i shouldnt download.

often i get friends emialing saying oh watch out for this virus or that virus, and more often than not, its the warning that is fake, and there is no virus of that name

hence my question, how do we know its real. (like where did the OP get the info from?)

i think there is something similar on the forums about a virus scare that isnt. hang on.

 

[disinfo]

well i would download it if i knew what it is i shouldnt download.

often i get friends emialing saying oh watch out for this virus or that virus, and more often than not, its the warning that is fake, and there is no virus of that name

Well antivirus 2009 definitely isn't a fake virus warning and i've had to remove multiple instances from computers at work.

 

[^woody^]

OH FFS

Who ever is foolish enough to believe that software updates are delivered via email, deserves all they get.

Likewise do people who open emails which are unexpected and from sources they don't know

These idiots are the ones who are actually responsible for most of the spam which flies around the net by letting their machines get infected and hijacked.

 

[disinfo]

OH FFS

Who ever is foolish enough to believe that software updates are delivered via email, deserves all they get.

Well at our work, they get to hand their laptop to me and let me waste my time sorting it out.

 

[^woody^]

Why doesn't the company firewall or AV software pick this up?

 

[disinfo]

Why doesn't the company firewall or AV software pick this up?

It does, when the clients are fully updated.

When people have had two weeks off at christmas for example with flaky internet connections sometimes the client doesnt get updated properly or the user may even cancel the update.

 

[dave.m]

hence my question, how do we know its real. (like where did the OP get the info from?)

Breezer,
It was not one of those warnings that go round.

I received an email offering an update to AntiVirus 2009 but deleted it because I know of the problems that AntiVirus 2009 cause. It was aimed at people who do not know much about their computer security and they could possibly just click to update thinking they werte doing the right thing without knowing the dangers.

Should you think that passing a genuine warning on to forum members is a waste of time then, in future I won't bother.

 

[dave.m]

OH FFS

Who ever is foolish enough to believe that software updates are delivered via email, deserves all they get.

Woody,
Do you use FreshUI or other Fresh software? Because they email you when updates are available for their software.

 

[Vicario]

There's a similar nasty called 'Antispyware 2009' which nearly got hold of my system. Luckily, I now use a Limited Account for everyday stuff.

 

[Shutpa]

Why doesn't the company firewall or AV software pick this up?

Perhaps it's because the said rogue Anti-Virus doesn't always arrive by e-mail! You may choose to download something, get the usual warning from your protection programme, but decide to proceed in any case. Having chosen to accept the download, and with it Anti-Virus 2008 ( now 2009), the rogue programme will not show up in a scan and therefore, not be removed, because you chose to download, despite the warning.

I know that this is so because I downloaded it last year and it cost me £60 to get rid of it.

 

[dave.m]

Who ever is foolish enough to believe that software updates are delivered via email, deserves all they get.

Woody, I never sugested that the email contained updates, I said that the email is to notify you about available updatyes and a link to the corrupt site supposedly to download them.


The email is worded something like,
The lastest updates for Av2009 are available for free download from www.xyz.
We recommend that you update your security software.

Should anyone fall for it or if the kids think they are doing you a favour, this is the way to remove it for free:

1st thing to do is clear out all your temporary files, tool of choice is ATF Cleaner , it is free and you do not have to install it. Download and instructions here:
http://www.atribune.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=25&Itemid=25

Download MalwareBytes' AntiMalware aka MBAM, it too is free, click the green download button on the left of the page and save the file to your desktop.
http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php

* Double-click mbam-setup.exe and follow the prompts to install the program.
* At the end, be sure a checkmark is placed next to the following:

o Update Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware
o Launch Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware

* Then click Finish .
· If an update is found, it will download and install the latest version. If you encounter any problems while downloading the updates, manually download them from here and just double-click on mbam-rules.exe to install.
* Once the program has loaded, select Perform full scan , then click Scan.
* When the scan is complete, click OK , then Show Results to view the results.
* Be sure that everything is checked, and click Remove Selected .
* When completed, a log will open in Notepad. The rogue application should now be gone.
Reboot as required

If you have to use it, leave it installed as it is worth doing a fortnightly quick scan with it even when you think your computer is clean.