Cyber criminals are becoming more creative to come up with new methods for Internet scam users. Their latest inventions are scareware antivirus programs, ransomware, and false.
What is a scareware?
A scareware is a form of malware that looks like a security program, claims to scan for threats and malware on your computer, and then lures you pay real money in exchange for solving imaginary threats.
a typical scareware creates a pop-up screen warning you that your computer has a serious immediate problem. These warnings can be on fictitious malware infecting your computer or software problem imaginary
The pop-up screens are often copy legitimate warnings from antivirus programs -. Complete with the names of allegedly blocked malware, fake scan reports to your computer, and can even include data on your IP address and geographic location to give personal warning and some apparent authenticity key .
other pop-ups mimic the look and text warnings of your computer. They claim to warn users about serious problems disks or software imitating "blue screen of death" of Microsoft and other warning displays.
scareware can be found everywhere
scareware can be found surfing the internet, attached to spam emails, and are sometimes distributed via sponsored browser search results.
Furthermore, the scareware files may not trigger alert from your antivirus software because they do nothing malicious.
But there is a clear difference between meeting a scareware and be fooled by it. Typically, scareware operates through . social engineering and relies on a computer user as you click the "yes" button without the recipient either emotionally or impulsively respond with a positive click, nothing happens -.? most of the time
What should you do when a scareware appears
when a scareware appears on your computer, the best response is to close the browser immediately. Do not click on either the "No" buttons "Close" or on the pop-up that some scareware variants screen were designed to send computer users to a malware distribution site when these buttons are clicked.
once you have clicked on "OK" and inadvertently downloaded malware, it can be a much more difficult and involved to delete files completely from your computer. The specific steps for complete removal vary depending on the type of malware and antivirus software on your computer.
What is a Ransomware?
Ransomware is a type of malware that tries to frighten or force computer users to pay a ransom by restricting access to the infected machine or threatening legal action.
Unlike Scareware, Ransomware can cause the infected computer is completely unusable.
ransomware can be picked up like any other malware since it is mainly distributed via infected web pages and e-mail links. A variant is spread by a derivative of Zeus Trojan, a malware toolkit best known for stealing financial data
Ransomware is divided into two basic groups :. Encrypted and non-encrypted. Some variants of the first group use a commercial grade encryption to hide files and forcing victims to pay for the decryption key.
Other variations in the second group to appear as members of groups responsible for law enforcement and threaten users with legal action or lock files to make use of difficult normal computer.
Ransomware may display pornographic images on your computer
ransomware non-encryption locks the infected computer until the ransom is paid, but does not encrypt the files. WinLock, one of the first examples of this kind, locked machinery and displays a pornographic image until users sent a text message premium to get the unlock code. This tactic has been particularly successful for cybercriminals based in the former Soviet bloc
But the common tactic of a pop-up warning that illegal pornography was found on your computer -. Regardless of what you already watching - has now got much more explicit.
a variant locks the browser of the victim while showing a screen supposedly from a police unit. This screen also contains child pornography as well as details such as personal data of the user's computer, IP address, and even their image if the infected computer has a webcam.
It also contains information how to pay the ransom note. The researchers found that the pop-up does not appear to the time of infection, but waits until the victim was using their computer for a period of time, thus, complicating detection .
antivirus Fake can create real problems
fake antivirus is just that - a collection of software that falsely claims to protect you against malware and worse, could actually infect your computer with a range of dangerous malware
fake antivirus comes. on computers of victims across a wide range of channels, including attachments, browser research poisoned and infected websites.
This is an extremely common way for cyber criminals to monetize or make money on malware. Researchers have identified more than half a million fake antivirus programs variants.
Once it has been downloaded to the computer of the victim, it may harass user and interfere with the normal operation of the machine until the payment was made. And this is not the end of the story either. In many variations, problems persist even after the payment was made for cyber criminals
scareware / fake antivirus is now designed for everyone -. PC, Mac and Androids
scareware and rogue antivirus thrive where there are new products, new threats, and an uninformed public. The first examples of scareware focused on Windows computers and PC, Mac and ignored almost completely.
That changed with the growth in popularity of OS X from Apple, and the current rise in the use of Android. MacDefender, one of the first forms of malware Mac, combined scareware and rogue antivirus features. Android is now a viable target with Android Defender is one of the first examples of a scareware / fake antivirus targeting this operating system.
The vulnerability is more a matter of having the wrong operating system. It is on cyber criminals feed on the fear of a user of a potential security risk which can not be solved by the security software to their devices.
What is the difference between scareware, fake antivirus and ransomware?
malware categories are not set in stone. Cyber criminals continually seek for the combination of visual and technical features which, according to them, have the most to make money. Thus, their portfolio of malicious software changes over time. These changes make it impossible to define many variations of malware ever
Fake antivirus is often marketed via scareware, but with one important distinction -. fake antivirus is a real software that can damage your computer and leave it vulnerable to other types of malware. The difference, at least from the perspective of a computer user is that scareware scared and just fake antivirus is a computer code package that may or may cause further damage.
Ransomware, especially the non-encryption variety, can lock down an infected computer to extract a ransom payment.
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