Rogue security software, also known
as "scareware," is software that appears
to be beneficial from a security
perspective but provides limited or no
security, generates erroneous or
misleading alerts, or attempts to lure
users into participating in fraudulent
transactions.
How does rogue security software get
on my computer?
Rogue security software designers
create legitimate looking pop-up windows
that advertise security update software.
These windows might appear on your
screen while you surf the Web.
The “updates” or “alerts” in the
pop-up windows call for you to take some
sort of action, such as clicking to
install the software, accept recommended
updates, or remove unwanted viruses or
spyware. When you click, the rogue
security software downloads to your
computer.
Rogue security software might also
appear in the list of search results
when you are searching for trustworthy
antispyware software, so it is important
to protect your computer.
What does rogue security software
do?
Rogue security software might report
a virus, even though your computer is
actually clean. The software might also
fail to report viruses when your
computer is infected. Inversely,
sometimes, when you download rogue
security software, it will install a
virus or other malicious software on
your computer so that the software has
something to detect.
Some rogue security software might
also:
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Lure you
into a fraudulent transaction
(for example, upgrading to a
non-existent paid version of a
program). |
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Use
social engineering to steal
your personal information. |
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Install
malware that can go undetected
as it steals your data. |
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Launch
pop-up windows with false or
misleading alerts. |
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Slow your
computer or corrupt files. |
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Disable
Windows updates or disable
updates to legitimate antivirus
software. |
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Prevent you
from visiting antivirus vendor
Web sites. |
Rogue security software might also
attempt to spoof the Microsoft security
update process. Here's an example of
rogue security software that's disguised
as a Microsoft alert but that doesn't
come from Microsoft.
Example of a warning from a rogue security
program known as AntivirusXP.
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