This is a malicious and fraudulent software being advertised as security software of a virus scanner and is also known by the name “Rogue Scanners.”    Once this gets into your computer system the software will usually display virus alerts that are false.  You will then get instructions to buy the full version so you can remove the “fictional” viral infections.  Customers who have fallen for this hoax not only waste their hard earned money but will sometimes end up with other charges on their credit card.  These charges are higher than what they expected to pay and the charges may continue to appear on their credit card statements even if you cancel.

There are three ways that you can encounter these rogue scanners; you see an advertisement offering a system tune up or the ad is offering a free virus scan, you click on a website that is fixed to exploit software vulnerabilities, or you get an email that is disguised as a news alert or a greeting card.

How to prevent scareware

This type of software is sometimes delivered through advertising channels that are legitimate and found on various websites.  The best way to prevent an infection from scareware is to disable active scripting that is being fed through a third party website.  Make sure that your anti-virus and anti-spyware that is legitimate is up to date.  Make sure that you read any email you receive in plain text and do not respond to any ads from people you do not know.

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Most everyone has anti-virus software on their computer to help protect their computer from an infected downloaded file. Anti-virus software can sometimes make a mistake and give you a false positive or even have the alert reappear after you told the software to remove it.

Here are some ways to tell if the virus alert is real.

1. Location-Where the alert is located can have significant bearing on whether it is real or not. If you are seeing repeated warnings or alerts about the infection it could be because you have some type of non-active malware that is trapped in one of the folders from the system restore. It may also be just a remnant trapped in some other spot causing the alert.
2. Origination—where it came from might mean anything such as a high risk origin would mean an attachment in an email or files that are downloaded from some file sharing network. High risk can also include a download that is unexpected that is the result from instant messaging or an email link.
3. Purpose—is the file that is triggering the alert one that you need and expected. Consider a file that is unexpectedly downloaded as high risk and is likely malicious. Be careful about what you run on your computer system is one way to eliminate a virus infection. If you did download it, you need it, but your anti-virus software is still giving you an alert, get another opinion. Read the rest of this entry »

The provision of government and financial services online is threatened by identity theft. Many people have fallen prey to these identity theft attacks. Actually, the problem is that people still manage identities in the ad hoc way, which is no longer useful because of the more sophisticated assaults from expert identity thieves. The need to develop a more comprehensive approach is accentuated with the introduction of these expert criminal attackers. To overcome this particular issue, attention should be paid to consumer education, responsible business practices, law enforcement engagement, new technology tools and expanded victim assistance.

Consumer education is important

Although there are some solutions available to deal with this issue but most people do not know about them. That is the reason why consumer education is extremely important. With an improvement in technological fields, several types of tools are there to strengthen your security. New technology tools and systems make use of interoperable vendor-neutral framework and provide consumers a safer environment to explore internet. Read the rest of this entry »