Rogue Antivirus Cliff Notes

Lately, we’ve seen an uptick in the occurrence of Rogue Antivirus infections.  The aim of this blog post will be to educate everyone a little bit about these viruses, how they are acquired, and how to identify them.

A Little Background:

Rogue Antivirus products are designed to scare users into purchasing a bogus product.  The typical M.O. of a Rogue AV program is delivering a pop-up to your screen, which is generally loaded with fear-inspiring terms, as depicted in the image below:

Looks legitimate, doesn’t it?  They’re supposed to. The people who write these bogus products are trying to swindle users, so they need an effective hustle.  Show a screen depicting a bunch of phony infections, and scare the user into spending $60.  The kicker:  Even if you pay the $60, the Rogue AV will, more often than not, stay on your system.  In fact, attempting to “activate” the product can worsen the infection and cause system instability.
 

Identifying Rogue Antivirus products

Rogue Antivirus programs are designed to look trustworthy, but there are a few ways to identify whether or not the program is legitimate. First, if you’ve purchased antivirus software through Centric Technology Service, you most likely have a version of AVG installed on your computer.  If the program doesn’t say AVG on it, it is likely a fake.

Another method of identifying Rogue Antivirus products is by determining the level of control they have over the system.  Legitimate antivirus products, even if their license has expired, will not seize control of your system.  If it seems like the pop ups are occurring whenever you perform any action or open any program, it is likely a Rogue Antivirus program.

A last example is behavior when you attempt to reach the Internet.  If navigation attempts on the web are blocked with messages similar to the following screenshot, the system is likely infected with a Rogue Antivirus program:

I have Antivirus on my computer; I should be immune, right?

This is a popular misconception.  Legitimate antivirus software, such as AVG, is designed to protect you from many threats, but does not make the computer virus-proof.  People who program viruses design these Rogue Antivirus programs and other malicious software to skirt protective measures such as antivirus programs.  Therefore, it is still important to be a little bit safety conscious when browsing the web.

So how do I protect myself?

The most popular methods of infection are through invalid links, bogus email attachments, and web banner ads.  When dealing with email, it is important to make sure you know and trust the sender before clicking on links or opening attachments contained within the email.  The same is true of messages sent via social networking media.  Links and files transferred via instant messengers and sites like Facebook are very popular media for virus transfers.  Exercising caution before deciding to click on links or open attachments can go a long way in keeping your system safe and virus free.

The most important rule to remember is if something seems out of place or makes you suspicious, leave it alone!  Better safe than sorry.  Also, keep in mind that we are only a phone call away here at CTS, and would be happy to answer any questions you may have about the behavior of your system.