The Growing Problem of Fake Alerts

One of the most common ways to become infected with any number of today's most common infections is to fall for a fake security alert.

According to a recent survey by Webroot, advanced users are more likely to encounter these fake alerts and fall victim to the scam.

You can easily run into this scam simply by clicking on a link from a Google search, so the more you use search engines, the more likely you will run into a fake alert.

Listen in as the Data Doctors discuss the latest scams, how you can spot the fake alerts and how to avoid them all together!

Join us every Saturday from 12:00–2:00PM on FM News/Talk 92.3 as we discuss your computer questions at: 602.277.5827 or e-mail your questions during (or before) the broadcast using the ask a question page.

Original Air Date: Oct 3, 2009

• Webroot's sobering survey results on fake alerts
• Drive-by downloads: the silent infector
• Fake antivirus overwhelming scanners
• Protect Yourself from Fake Anti-Virus Software
• Fake Antivirus: 5 software titles you should definitely NOT install
• Fake Antivirus Trojans Ramping Up - screenshots of many common fake alerts
• Partial list of rogue security software
• Microsoft kicks fake security software off 400,000 PCs
• Conficker launches antivirus scam as malware hits Twitter
• Fake anti-virus attack hits New York Times website readers

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Polymorphic code: Code that changes itself each time it runs, but the function of the code in whole does not change at all. This is a common tactic to evade anti-malware programs that use 'signature-based' detection. Since the signature changes constantly, it can't be compared to previously discovered code.