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Scareware is a form of malware which uses social engineering to cause shock, anxiety, or the perception of a threat in order to manipulate users into buying unwanted software. Scareware is part of a class of malicious software that includes rogue security software, ransomware and other scam software that tricks users into believing their computer is infected with a virus, then suggests that they download and pay for fake antivirus software to remove it. Usually the virus is fictional and the software is non-functional or malware itself. According to the Anti-Phishing Working Group, the number of scareware packages in circulation rose from 2,850 to 9,287 in the second half of 2008. In the first half of 2009, the APWG identified a 585% increase in scareware programs.
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Malwarebytes Inc. is an American Internet security company that specializes in protecting home computers, smartphones, and companies from malware and other threats. It has offices in Santa Clara, California; Clearwater, Florida; Tallinn, Estonia; Bastia Umbra, Italy; and Cork, Ireland.
MS Antivirus is a scareware rogue anti-virus which purports to remove virus infections found on a computer running Microsoft Windows. It attempts to scam the user into purchasing a "full version" of the software. The company and the individuals behind Bakasoftware operated under other different 'company' names, including Innovagest2000, Innovative Marketing Ukraine, Pandora Software, LocusSoftware, etc.
Avira Operations GmbH & Co. KG is a German multinational computer security software company mainly known for its Avira Free Security antivirus software. Although founded in 2006, the Avira antivirus application has been under active development since 1986 through its predecessor company H+BEDV Datentechnik GmbH. Since 2021, Avira has been owned by American software company NortonLifeLock, which also operates Norton, Avast and AVG. It was previously owned by investment firm Investcorp.
Internet Security Essentials, also InternetSecurityEssentials, is rogue security software pretending to protect the computer against malware and viruses. It is one of several clones belonging to the "FakeVimes" family of fake antivirus malware.
References
- ↑ "Beware of FAKE Anti Virus - Winwebsec". DiGiMan. Retrieved November 23, 2012.
- ↑ "Windows Live forum: TROJAN:Win32/Winwebsec-Looks like official Windows Security" . Retrieved November 23, 2012.
- ↑ "Winwebsec". 21 September 2009. Retrieved November 23, 2012.
- ↑ Pohlmann, Norbert. "Screenshot images of the Winwebsec and FakeRean malware families". ResearchGate . Retrieved August 5, 2023.
- ↑ "Rogue:Live Security Platinum". J.Phillips. Retrieved November 23, 2012.
- ↑ "Encyclopedia entry". 2011 Microsoft Corporation. Retrieved November 23, 2012.
- ↑ "Rogue:W32/Winwebsec". F-Secure Corporation. Retrieved November 23, 2012.