Fake anti-virus threats are rampant and growing. There's been a 400% increase in reported incidents in the last 12 months alone, and it's the number one call driver to McAfee's Virus Removal Service team for the past six months running. There were more than 19,000 calls to McAfee's Virus Removal Service team in January 2010.
According to a 2009 report in Consumer Reports, one in five online consumers was a victim of cybercrime in the past two years and almost a half-million households had to replace PCs due to malware in the past six months.
Consumers can get a warning about the latest threats with inside intelligence from McAfee Labs, through McAfee's Consumer Threat Alerts. McAfee educates users about the dangerous reality of today's online threats through initiatives like Consumer Threat Alerts.
McAfee's Consumer Threat Alerts program will help consumers stay ahead of evolving and sophisticated threats. Subscribers will receive periodic email alerts about how to recognize the latest online dangers and tips on how to stay safe.
In addition to the email notification, all updates will be posted on the Consumer Threat Alerts blog, and consumers can also follow McAfee on Twitter (@mcafee) or visit the Facebook page for updates, videos, and tips.
Say the folks at McAfee, "We're giving consumers the 'street smarts' they need to live their online lives safely. With education and the right technology, we can all play a part in the fight against cybercrime."
Be aware, be smart, be safe.
I was not paid for my time, participation or video appearance by any party. For me, it is a matter of keeping you safe by learning what mistakes I made so you don't have to learn the way I did — the hard way.
Article comments
1 - Mark Buckingham
Expensive lesson learned. Someone I know got snookered over the phone into giving up credit card info to pay a past due cell phone charge, saying if it wasn't paid in the next hour, the account would be deactivated. It was a scam from start to finish.
At times like this, it is crucial to be skeptical, pause, and think the situation through. Rash decisions almost universally only make the situation worse, even if you think you're doing the right thing. Examine the situation carefully and look for things that don't fit or make sense.
I run across people who get viruses and malware on their computers at work all the time, and it's our job to get rid of them. When in doubt, don't click ANYTHING! Even clicking Cancel or the X in the corner to close the window could have been reprogrammed to mean "OK" to the window.
When in doubt, reboot to Safe Mode by hitting F8 while your system is first starting up, then let your REAL anti-virus/malware software do its thing. If all else fails, ComboFix has fixed some of the worst offenders we've encountered, saving us from having to wipe the system clean in most cases.
2 - Stevie
Totally correct Mark! I wish at the time, I had stopped to THINK about it. But as the article & McAfee state, it's about the fear of the virus --not the fear of what could go wrong. Had I known about ComboFix (or my tech guy), I might not have spent 3+ weeks and over $1k to get everything fix. This malware was in registry and buried so deep, we were going at it manually.
3 - Mark Buckingham
Sometimes it takes several tools to get the job done, but I have yet to personally see a system that couldn't be cleaned rather than wiped. Sometimes it's not even the tools you'd expect, either. For example, if MBAM, SuperAntiSpyware, or an antivirus program clean out a bunch of files, that will likely leave behind orphaned registry entries that don't point to any files anymore. Then using a registry cleaning tool like RegScrubXP or CCleaner will get rid of those entries simply because they're orphaned and disconnected, regardless of why they were there in the first place. :)
4 - Stevie
good to know. I know at least 7 people who have contacted me and told me this has happened to them -- in the last year or the last week.. PLUS one fake AV tried to hit me again. Thankfully I know what to do.
But to know that 1 of 5 people have had this happen to them in the last 2 years (consumer reports 2009).. is really startling information and most would not even know how to use the tools you are talking about.. but I definitely want to check them out!
5 - Diane Neill Jensen
This is my third comment in a row. Got blocked for thanking you for this article on FAV. Hope this goes thru, as I am sincere. Thank you.
6 - Diane Neill Jensen
I finally got through to thank you. The problem was with my website url. I took off the section of my website that was / and then a section of my site. I get it. I'll be back to read more articles.
Thank you.
7 - Stevie
HI to Diane.. please spread it around. I found 7 friends in 2 days who had this happen to them in the last year.. one is currently dealing with it. It's insidious. it's harmful and it's expensive in time and repair.
good luck
8 - carders
Totally correct Mark!!! I wish at the time, I had stopped to THINK about it. But as the article & McAfee state, it's about the fear of the virus --not the fear of what could go wrong. Had I known about ComboFix (or my tech guy), I might not have spent 3+ weeks and over $1k to get everything fix. This malware was in registry and buried so deep, we were going at it manually.
9 - Stevie
And guess what!! Since this article I have talked to over 100 people this has happened to-- including 3 other computers in my home-- where one was simply clicking on the wrong window & a credit card and pw's were compromised. Two other computers (thank you teen daughter) for having viruses on both a lap top (it's just getting fixed now.. with 300 (!!) viruses despite me telling her about this-- it was trying to hack into firewall. NOT fun. Look for another post on this situation PLUS how businesses are affected too.