Beware Of Bogus Anti-Virus Software Downloads

There is fake software out there that is trying to trick you into buying it. If you do, you could risk seriously damaging your computer.

Joseph De Avila, reports on personal technology for the Wall Street Journal. He explains how this new software, Scareware, works.

"So what Scareware is is fake anti-virus software," said De Avila. "There are people out on the web right now trying to sell this fake software.

"What it does is it kind of scares people into buying it. A person might be going on to any normal website , say the wallstreetjournal.com website. They might get redirected to another site where there are people poised and ready to try and sell you fake software.

"These fake software companies what they will do is they will give you messages To try and confuse you, and try to make it seem like your computer is infected with like a virus or a worm.

"Ultimately," he continued, "what they want you to do is pay for their software. You think it's going to be legit, but it's a scam. Oftentimes if your computer doesn't have the latest security updates, just by clicking on some of these ads or going to these websites that are fake where they're trying to peddle this fake software, it can get your computer infected," said De Avila.

This is serious stuff. At that point it can pretty much render your computer useless depending on what type of program you might have been infected with.

What these companies are doing is they're trying to make their software programs look as legit as possible. You might see these pop ups that you're used to seeing; that are on your computer; that come from your Windows computer.

De Avila says they'll use Windows security messages to try and trick you. "They look very authentic so they're getting a little bit harder to spot that's what they're trying to do they're trying to trick you into thinking that it's real."

One thing that's a clear giveaway is if you're on a website, whether it's Google or Yahoo and all of a sudden you find yourself being redirected to a site that's trying to sell you antivirus software. That's a dead giveaway. That that is probably a bogus site. Legitimate websites don't redirect you from one site to the next.

According to De Avila, "If you're redirected to a site don't trust it at all."

He advises "If you're really looking for anti-virus software actually type in the url for the actual software company. Do the research. Make sure it's a real company."

If you do already have anti-viral software on your computer and you need to update, don't update via the little pop up reminders for Windows go to the start button, then go into "my computer" and go from there. Don't take any risks.

One more thing, the more you're on the internet the more you might be exposed.

Here are some of the names associated with rogue software:

- Securelink Networks
- High Falls Media
- Quick Shield
- WinFixer
- WinAntivirus
- DriveCleaner
- ErrorSafe
- XP Antivirus
- SpySheriff