The most common infection currently is what is known as a fake antivirus infection. It is far more prevalent than any other infection out there for either Windows or Mac OS X. In the previous posts, we explained just what this creature is and how it gets into your computer. In this post, we’ll tell you just how to know if you have it or not.
What Is This?
The easiest way to tell if you have the fake antivirus infection is to see if you have something popping up on your computer that is asking you to purchase something after scanning your computer for threats. Many times, the code beneath the fake antivirus malware is the same from person to person, but the infection re-skins itself, which means it shows a different image, to look like a program you already have installed. Many times, you can tell that it is not, in fact, your true antivirus because it will have spelling and grammar errors or the fine print will tell you that you need to purchase something.
I Can’t Open the Control Panel or My Antivirus
If you are more technically minded, you may look to your Control Panel to find out what is going on when your computer shows you this type of infection. However, many times the fake antivirus program will disable your Task Manager or Control Panel access, claiming it was caused by the however-many infections it ‘found’ on your computer. Other times, it will disable your true antivirus entirely, since if you suspect infections, you’re more likely to try to run your antivirus software to fix the problem. Both of these occurrences increase the likelihood that you will purchase their fake antivirus software when you notice that something is amiss.
The Internet Is Going Crazy!
When you type a website name into your web browser, you expect it to take you to that website. When it doesn’t, that could mean that you have a fake antivirus infection. This is especially true if it takes you to a website that asks you to purchase their product or you could continue unprotected. This also adds to the user’s fear that something may be wrong with the computer, thus encouraging them to purchase the software ‘just to be safe’.