After all my warnings about scareware, Google comes along with a warning on its search results pages that many of you might believe is scareware, but it’s not – it’s real.
Google Malware Warning
According to Google’s Online Security Blog
This particular malware causes infected computers to send traffic to Google through a small number of intermediary servers called “proxies.” We hope that by taking steps to notify users whose traffic is coming through these proxies, we can help them update their antivirus software and remove the infections.
This malware is actually a result of scareware, or fake anti-virus software that infects computers. And, Google admits, there may be a whole new slew of fake scareware ads that look like the Google warning. A valid Google warning will only be seen at the top of a search results page.
So, if you see this warning it’s time to run an AV scan. You do have anti-virus installed, right? And it’s up-to-date, right? If not, Google will even help you at their Help Center..
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We often get clients asking us for a recommendation on anti-virus software. This occurred last week when one of our clients was infected with a scareware trojan (again). He couldn’t download anything off the web because the trojan was blocking it and was standing at the anti-virus software rack at the local Office Max. He had been using AVG on his new computer, which didn’t block the scareware.
So let’s talk about antimalware protection for your home office or small business. First, there are Internet security suites that can contain a firewall, anti-virus, antimalware, anti-phishing, anti-spam, parental control, identity theft protection, backup software and any number of other features which you may or may not need.
Then there is dedicated anti-virus/antispyware software that specializes in protecting your computer from a virus/worm/trojan. Continue reading .
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You’ve probably seen it… you’re surfing along and up pops a window saying something like “Your computer is infected with 182 viruses – click here to fix”.
We’ve had several clients who’ve clicked on it and infected their computers. It puts an icon in your SysTray that keeps blatting about going to a web site and paying money to fix the problem. In many cases it limits your access to antivirus sites, can steal personal data and slow your computer.
It’s extortion. They infect your computer and then want money to fix it. It’s another form of phishing, luring you in under false pretenses. The term for it is “scareware”.
Continue reading .
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I’ve been receiving a ton of phishing scams in my email inbox lately from banks, insurance companies and now, Microsoft.
The subject line says something about an “Update for Microsoft Outlook” (I’ve received 3 or 4 with different subject lines) but don’t buy into it – it’s another phishing attempt. Look at the picture below and notice where the link leads in the status bar on the bottom left…
The link does NOT lead to Microsoft
If you can’t read it, it says http://update.microsoft.com.illlhi1.com/
This is a normal ploy for phishers, using subdomains to create a legitimate looking URL, but the actual domain is illlhi1.com, not Microsoft.
A word to the wise – DON’T click on links in emails from banks, insurance companies or even Microsoft.
Paul.
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