How Antivirus Software Functions

 How Antivirus Software Functions

Over the past few years, scareware (rogue security software) quickly emerged as the most profitable monetization strategy for cybercriminals to exploit. Due to aggressive advertising practices by cybercrime gangs, thousands of users are scammed on a daily basis, and the gangs themselves earn hundreds of thousands of dollars in the process. In this post you will learn what scareware is, the risks its installation poses, what it looks like, its distribution channels and, most importantly, how to recognize it, avoid it using antivirus software or any other method, and report it to the security community.

What Is A Scareware?

Basically, scareware, also known as rogue ware or in simple terms, fake security software, is a legitimate looking application that is delivered to the end user through illegal traffic acquisition tactics from compromised websites, malicious advertising u black hat search engine optimization, to finally try to fool the user into thinking that their computer is already infected with malware, and that buying the app will help you get rid of it.

Upon execution, certain versions of scareware will not only prevent legitimate antivirus software from loading, but will also prevent it from reaching their update locations in an attempt to ensure that the end user cannot obtain the latest signature database. Furthermore, it will also try to make its removal a slow process by blocking the execution of system tools and third-party applications. There have also been cases where scareware with ransomware elements has been encrypting an infected user's files, requiring a purchase to decrypt them, as well as a single reported incident where a scareware domain was also embedded with client-side exploits. At the moment, the scareware versions are exclusively aimed at Microsoft Windows users.

How Does It Work?

Due to the fact that the scareware campaigns maintained by partners on the affiliate network use a standard template distributed to all of them, all scareware sites share a very common set of deceptive advertising practices, which can help you easily detect them before you perform. A purchase.

For example, most scareware sites try to add more authenticity to their proposals by using "clickable" icons from reputable technology websites and performance evaluation services. Another popular social engineering tactic is bogus benchmarking templates, which basically show a graph where scareware outperforms software offered by some of the major security companies.

Since the end user who is about to make an impulsive purchase decision does not have the box to verify these claims.

The diverse list of tactics leads us to the ubiquitous fear-driven social engineering tactic of simulating a real-time antivirus scan in the progress dialog, which is actually nothing more than a static script, with anecdotal cases where the Mac users are presented with a Windows such as the My Documents folder window. The scan results are static, bogus, and have absolutely no access to your hard drive, hence the claims that “You are infected! Windows has been infected; Warning: A malware infection is detected; A malware threat has been detected” should be considered a tactical alarm.

Among the key features of the scareware are the professional design of the site, as well as the persistent rebranding of the template in an attempt to divert the end-user's attention from the increasingly bad reputation of the previous brand on the web. Combined, these features result in an efficient scam powered by social engineering that continues to mislead thousands of victims on a daily basis.

Examples of Scareware

Some of the most common scareware attacks take the form of pop-up windows that pretend to be messages from an antivirus software program, a firewall application, or the Windows operating system.

Usually, they will inform you that your computer has been infected with malware and ask you to purchase an antimalware program to remove the virus. There really are no viruses and the antimalware program they are trying to get you to buy is not real. In the best case, you will lose the money you have spent on malware and end up with a rogue program that does nothing. In the worst case, the newly downloaded program will damage your computer or steal your information.

These are the main types of scareware:

·          Spysheriff

·          Antivirus XP

·          Punisher adware

How to Protect Yourself from Scareware?

·         Defending yourself against any online scam and also against computer scareware is about being skeptical and being vigilant: always question any offer, paid or free, whenever a window pops up and says you need to download and install something.

·         Only use a legitimate antivirus product that you trust.

·         Read emails in plain text. Avoiding HTML email is not aesthetically pleasing with all the graphics removed, but the Spartan appearance prevents fraud by displaying suspicious HTML links.

·         Never open attachments from strangers or from anyone offering software services. Be wary of any email offer that includes attachments. These emails are almost always scams and you should delete them immediately before they infect your computer.

·         Be skeptical of any offer online and be prepared to close your browser immediately. If the web page you found gives you any sense of alarm, pressing ALT-F4 on your keyboard will close your browser and prevent any scareware from downloading.

What To Do If You’re Computer Has Been Infected With Scareware?

·         While scareware alerts are fake and should be avoided, they should not be completely ignored. Its mere existence is a sign that your computer is infected.

·         To remove it, you may need to find best antivirus software. Do your research; see if others are experiencing similar problems or symptoms and how they fix it. The goal is to remove any signs of viruses and immediately reinstall any antivirus software that the virus may have missed or disabled.

·         Finally, make sure your computer and software are up to date with all current patches and protection measures.

·         What if an advertisement appears on the screen with dire warnings that your computer is infected? Never click on its "download" button.

·         Always close the ad. Just be careful: some scareware are difficult to shut down and designed to trick you into accidentally initiating a download. It is better to close the browser rather than the individual pop-up ads

·         If the pop-up ad does not allow you to close the browser on your PC, press Ctrl-Alt-Delete to close. If you can't close your browser, completely shut down your computer.

·         Never provide credit card information or other personal information in response to one of these scareware advertisements.

·         Don't let a scareware ad stop you from buying legitimate security software.

·         Never download anything from a company whose name you don't recognize. And beware of fakes. Many scareware scammers will use names that sound like the names of legitimate antivirus programs.