ReadWriteWeb

One of the most insidious ways that malware scammers infect users' computers is through fake anti-virus programs. For years Internet denizens have seen pop-ups in their browsers claiming that "your computer is infected, click here to get rid of this virus." If users clicked, they would download a virus that the scammers would offer to eradicate, for a fee. This was a favorite practice of "Spam King" Sanford Wallace in the early 2000s. In recent months, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has raided the "scareware" spammers and as such, fake anti-virus malware on the Web has decreased by 60% in the last several months.

You may recognize the programs. They go by names like "Vista Security 2012," "XP Antispyware 2012" and "Mac Defender." Yet, according to Enigma Software, these scareware programs are on the decline. In June, the FBI raided malicious programmers 12 countries including the U.S. and arrested ChronoPay's CEO Pavel Vrublevsky, whose Russian payments company was believed to be behind many of the applications.

Microsoft is taking aim at malvertising in an effort to curb the phenomenon. The Redmond company filed five civil law suits in King County Superior Court this morning after finding that a number of online advertisers were delivering malicious code to users. In the past ReadWriteWeb has covered a number of malvertising scams including the Facebook Fan Check virus' scareware scam. As was the case with Fan Check, the 5 companies are being accused of mimicking Windows security updates and tricking users into running fake programs.

It's seems like every virus produces a list of capitalistic charlatans. During the Bubonic plague, thousands spent their hard earned savings on worthless talismans in the hopes of avoiding the Black Death. The song "Ring Around the Rosy" even documents the myth that a "pocket full of posies" could ward off the disease. Today's modern day talisman comes in the form of a fake anti-virus software. According to John Leyden's recent Register article, fake software is being peddled to users who believe their systems are infected with the Facebook Fan Check Virus.