Malware - Why you need to be a human firewall
Is this Windows Security Alert real or fake? The answer depends on what you were doing when it appeared.
- Did you click on a link in an email message? It's fake. It's advisable to never click on any link contained within an email message. Instead, open your web browser and type in the website address.
- Did it appear while you were browsing the web? It's fake. Legitimate antivirus software must be installed and run from your computer, not from a website.
- Did it show up while viewing someone's Facebook or Twitter page? It's fake. And worse yet your friend's Facebook page may be infected with something or compromised.
- Did you manually start a virus scan from within your anti-virus application? It's probably real.
How about this alert? Is it real or is it fake? The same rules apply, it depends on what you were doing at the time. Human firewalls are skeptical and untrusting and any message that pops up should be regarded as suspicious. So you can just click on cancel or the "X" close button in the upper right hand corner of the window, right? Unfortunately, no. Clicking any button in a window such as this one will have the same result: malware will be installed on your computer. Instead you should bring up the Windows task manager by pressing Ctrl-Alt-Delete. Then, highlight the process and click the End Process button.
So let's say your friend sends you a link to a really cool new video. You launch your web browser and type in the website address and receive the message below. Should you click on the download link? Absolutely not. Hackers want to redirect you from legitimate websites to websites that they control. You should instead visit the Flash player publisher website, such as www.adobe.com, directly and check for updates.
There are hundreds of bogus anti-malware applications floating around the Internet today. Before deciding to install one from a popup ad like the one below, navigate to the company website and see if its legitimate. Try finding reviews of the product from legitimate industry sources. Many of these bogus anti-malware apps install more malware on your computer, attempt to steal your identity, or capture your financial information.
User's submitted over 130 bogus anti-malware titles for 2009. These are not legitimate anti-malware titles.
Spyware Protect 2009
This webpage was developed from information provided by US-CERT and MS-ISAC.