The Hindu Business Line : Unmask the masquerador

Here, hackers and cyber criminals lure you by offering to voluntarily scan your computer, or by warning you about purported infection. If you fall prey, you end up paying a heavy price. Seeing good revenue spin-offs, cyber criminals are generating more and more fake anti-virus programs.

While some of these malicious programs enter the computer only when the user clicks on pop-ups, in some cases they muscle their way in even when the user rejects an offer.

How does one tackle this menace?

Vyacheslav Zakorzhevsky, a senior malware analyst at security solutions company Kaspersky, says that it is not all that difficult. If one follows simple security rules, one can insulate oneself from these threats up to 99 per cent.

“Cyber criminals use these programs to extort money from novice Internet users,” he warns.

Dos and don'ts

The moment you notice a pop-up on your computer, alerting you about an impending danger, check whether the vendor has an official site. You should also verify whether the site offers technical support. “If it doesn't, it is definitely a rogue anti-virus program,” he cautions.

The main aim of these programs is to convince the users that their computers are at risk and scare them into buying an antivirus product.

Another attribute of these programs is that they offer to scan the computer first. But one should remember that legitimate programs designed to combat malware will never do that, he argues.

He also advises users to click on messages only from a legitimate antivirus solution installed on the computer. “Don't click on pop-up windows even if they are not blocked by the browser security or other security solutions.”

Rogue antivirus programs are spread using the same methods that are used to spread most other malware — when the user visits an infected site, through a Trojan downloader, or when the user clicks on a pop-up or opens an e-mail attachment.

kurmanath@thehindu.co.in

Related Stories:
Cyber crooks play on ‘thrift’ sentiment
Top IT security threats downloaded while surfing