Skip to main content

What’s Protecting Millions of Computers? Fake Security Software

Symantec Logo

By now most savvy Internet users have seen popups and other advertising warning that their computer is infected with a worm or a virus, but for a small fee and a quick download, that problem can be cleared right up! Unsurprisingly, these “scareware” offers are scams, hoping to dupe unwitting users into turning over money for what’s (at best) useless software. At worst, users may be literally paying to install software that compromises the security of their computer or even lets remote attackers take over the machine.

Sound far-fetched? Not according to a new report (PDF) from Symantec: the company’s new Report on Rogue Security software says that in the year between July 1, 2008, and June 30, 2009 Symantec received a whopping 43 million reports of attempted installations of fake security programs. Moreover, during the same period 250 such programs were detected in the wild, and 38 of the top 50 programs were around before July 1, 2008, suggesting these applications have a life cycle far longer than the typical trojan horse, worm, or virus.

Related Videos

Symantec didn’t have any way to know—and hasn’t offered any figures—for how many of those installations may have been successful, but the company reports that some 93 percent of the software installations for the top 50 rogue programs were intentionally downloaded by users—meaning most of the 43 million-or-so users who download these things were successfully duped.

Many of the fake security programs are priced from $30 to $100, with a great deal of the marketing for the products being done by middle-man affiliate partners who typically earn between 1 and 50 cents per successful download. The most successful “master sites” for bogus security software seem to have been Bakasoftware, TrafficConverter, and Dogma Software. Although TrafficConverter was shutdown in November 2008 (as part of the pursuit of the Downaup worm), the site claimed to have as many as 500 affiliates for distributing bogus security software, with top performers earning over $300,000 per month for getting Internet users to install the software.

Symantec urges Internet users to only use reputable, validated security software. In addition, users can reduce their risk by avoiding clicking on links in email messages, never opening email attachments from unknown sources, and being wary of popup and banner advertisements that mimic system dialog boxes and displays.

Editors' Recommendations

Bing Image Creator brings DALL-E AI-generated images to your browser
Bing Image Creator being used in the Edge sidebar.

Microsoft isn't slowing down its momentum in generative AI. Just a month since it launched the ChatGPT-based Bing Chat, the company is now introducing Bing Image Creator, which brings text-to-image generation right to your browser.

Bing Image Creator lets you create images from text using DALL-E, which is OpenAI's own text-to-image AI model. Microsoft says it's using "an advanced" version of DALL-E, though the company didn't provide specifics about how it was different than the current DALL-E 2 model. This isn't dissimilar, though, to how Bing Chat was announced, which had been running on GPT-4 before the new model had even been announced.

Read more
The Windows 11 taskbar is getting an important new update
windows 11 taskbar third party app pinning

Microsoft is working on new experiences for Windows that will allow developers to enable pinning for third-party applications, as well as enable pinning to the Taskbar.

Microsoft recently announced the details of these upcoming functions in a blog post. This is the brand's attempt to universalize its pinning process across all apps used on Windows. In practice, it will be similar to how pinning works on the Edge browser, with the Windows 11 users being notified by the Action Center about a request for pinning to the Taskbar by the app in question.

Read more
Get this 22-inch monitor for $80 with this limited time deal
cyber monday deals drop this 22 inch dell monitor to 110 se2222h feat image

Do you need to replace your old monitor but you're on a tight budget? Then you shouldn't miss Dell's offer for the Dell SE2222H monitor, which you can currently get for a very cheap $80. You'll pocket $50 in savings from its original price of $130 if you're able to take advantage of the discount, which may go away at any moment like most monitor deals that are this affordable.

Why you should buy the Dell SE2222H monitor
The Dell SE2222H monitor is the perfect partner to a new PC that you got from desktop computer deals. It's made by a brand that's a mainstay in our list of the best monitors, so you know that you'll be getting a top-quality display. The Dell SE2222H monitor features a 22-inch screen with Full HD resolution, for bright colors and clear details when you're working on projects, watching streaming content, and browsing the internet. The monitor also offers a 60Hz refresh rate, which is how often the images on the screen are updated, and an 8ms response time, which is how quickly image transitions are shown, according to our computer monitor buying guide.

Read more