Don't Be Fooled By AntiVirus 2009!
There is a major threat to home and business computers floating around the Internet masquerading as a legitimate anti-virus software product. The scam, often seen as a fake Windows warning claims that your computer is infected with a serious virus and that you should download AntiVirus 2009 to cure the infection. The fake warning comes in several different forms and may look like any of the following:
- A standard Windows popup with the Windows security shield image saying that your computer has been infected.
- A plain blue Windows crash screen reporting a memory dump followed by a notice saying that your computer has been infected.
In both situations the popup box normally has two buttons, yes and no, but regardless of which button the user pushes the system still begins to download and install the AntiVirus 2009 system. The problem is that AntiVirus 2009 is a virus itself, and if allowed to install it secretly takes over the computer.
Bear in mind that ANY virus or spyware warning such as this should be disregarded unless it is coming from an antivirus program that you personally have installed on your system. If you are concerned that the warning may actually be authentic then download and install an antivirus program from a reputable company (such as the free version of Grisoft's AVG Antivirus ) and have that program scan the computer for problems.
If the Antivirus 2009 software has already installed itself on the computer the recommended course of action is to use the sequence of instructions detailed at a site such as:
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/malware-removal/uninstall-antivirus-2009
This site also provides images of what the screen may look like when the Antivirus 2009 software is attempting to infect your system.
