Computer and Internet Security Tips Useful information to help your computer run smoothly and safely
Computer Security Alert  Updated 5-25-2011 by Paul Burns, Malicious Software Removal Specialist "The Fake Anti-Virus" Virus! How to Recognize it, How to Deal With It
Use of fake anti-virus, anti-spyware software is a fast-growing scam, especially as more people become aware of the dangers of spyware, adware and malware. Fake antivirus programs, or scareware, are very common and provide a way for scammers to make easy money. The scammers prey on the fears of Web surfers who are misled into believing their systems are infected and then pay, typically, $50 for a program that not only doesn't protect their computers, but often turns out to be malicious. The program will typically offer a "Free Virus Scan" or it may simply report that infections were found and offer to fix the infections for a fee. The end result is a loss of money paid, with continued ransom and extortion tactics and quite often stolen credit card activity or identity theft.	This is an example of a  fake System Alert. Unfortunately, it looks very much like a legitimate Windows Error Message. Clicking Yes or No or OK or the standard red "X" in the upper right corner will activate the virus. Your best defense is to turn the Computer off  abruptly by holding the computer's power button for 10 seconds or simply pull the power plug. What ever you do, Don't click anywhere on the message.
Recently this type of infection has infiltrated advertising on legitimate websites. Common infections this month have come from files planted in Google Search Results. You click on the infected search result and a small message pops up warning you of a "Windows System Error" or "Hard Drive Error"
This fake Windows "Repair and Recovery" Program is an example of what these programs often look like once activated.	The window to the left shows a fairly new infection. Often, by the time this screen appears the computer is already infected. Once this window pops up, the computer is completely disabled and held for ransom until the user agrees to pay. The computer's legitimate anti-virus program will have been disabled, all internet traffic will be re-routed to suit the virus's needs and all attempts to stop the virus from working will be intercepted. The the computer's normal security software is disabled, removing the virus at this stage often requires help from somebody who has experience in malicious software removal.
You can protect yourself from becoming infected with this type of malicious software: - Keep your Operating System, and Anti-Virus programs up to date with the programs'   "Automatic Updating" features. Pay attention that your anti-virus is working properly. When a    virus infects a computer its first goal is to disable the anti-virus program.   - Know what your normal anti-virus software's messages looks like. Be suspicious when a    message looks different than what you have seen before. - If you suspect that a suspicious window has popped up while visiting a website, just turn the   computer off. Hold the power button down until the computer shuts off (usually 4 to 5   seconds). This type of virus is often designed to activate with any mouse click on the window,   even clicking to close the window will activate the virus. After the computer has stopped, wait   30 seconds and restart the computer and scan with your normal computer security software. - If you recognize that your computer has become infected, you should seek the help of a virus removal specialist. At the very least, do any research on how to remove the infection from a separate computer than the one that  is infected. It is common for a malicious infection to control or influence the results of search engines, which could lead to further infection and ineffective results when searching from the infected computer.