Re: Beware the AntiVirus 2009 scam!!!

On Mon, 02 Feb 2009 15:50:46 GMT, Jim10293@xxxxxxxxx wrote:

On Mon, 02 Feb 2009 00:25:13 -0800, El Castor <No_One@xxxxxxxx> wrote:

On Sun, 01 Feb 2009 18:11:19 GMT, Jim10293@xxxxxxxxx wrote:

On Sun, 01 Feb 2009 09:35:55 -0800, El Castor <No_One@xxxxxxxx> wrote:

On Sun, 01 Feb 2009 02:19:38 GMT, Jim10293@xxxxxxxxx wrote:

Several people in a Chinese email listserve got stung with the
AntiVirus 2009 scam. I am unclear how it got to them but one fellow
had responded to 'help' another solve a computer problem and gave him
a link that turned out to the AntiVirus 2009 scam. Victim paid 49.95
and ran the program, thought he had eliminated tons of viruses and now
is really in trouble. My guess is they also have his credit card
information to misuse as well.

http://www.blueridgenow.com/article/20090106/NEWS/901051025/0/LIVING03

http://redmondmag.com/features/article.asp?editorialsid=2617

This is a common type of scam, and has been around for quite awhile.
Last year it was called Antivirus 2008. We all need to be wary of free
software -- particularly things that claim to speed up the computer,
speed up downloads, anti-virus cures, etc. Avoiding this crap is
relatively easy -- just use a good anti-virus/anti-malware product to
begin with, a popup blocker, and never click on links in unknown
e-mail -- or known e-mail for that matter. When in doubt, go to Google
and do a search on the name of the suspicious commodity followed by
the word scam or malware.

Here's a good place to find legitimate freeware -- including
anti-virus software:
http://www.majorgeeks.com/

Here is a legit piece of free anti-virus software that I use. It
doesn't take the place of the bought stuff, or a good firewall -- it's
just an enhancement, and it also comes in a paid version, but I think
that's not necessary.
http://www.threatfire.com

I have received email that is perfect in appearance allegedly from
Turbotax and other vendors saying I need to install updates or other
important such notices.

Comcast is pretty good at filtering out the crap, but I get the same
kind of thing from "eBay" all the time. I guess I'm supposed to click
on a link and give some crook my eBay ID and password.

Makes me mad every time I get a legit email from a well known
financial institution -- with a link to click on and login with.

The kind of thing you expect and regularly
receive from real vendors. I go to the headers now and check the
source and now, never click any link I receive without first going to
the real site by typing the real address myself and researching what I
need to do. Hackers are getting more persistent and tricky every day.

I just use Norton and a couple of most popular free programs to check
for any problems.

Thanks for the links. I will check them. But, have to be careful
because can't run some antivirus programs with others easily.

Threatfire isn't the usual anti-virus program -- actually I think it's
billed as anti-malware, although these days there isn't much
difference. It's intended to be run with anti-virus programs. It does
do a periodic scan, but mainly it monitors behavior, looking for
typical things that malware does, like phone home. Here's a review.
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2301045,00.asp

I have been trying to find information on how it behaves with Symantec
- Norton.

I saw Threatfire was somehow related to PC Tools and recall having
horendous experience with that company years ago on a much earlier PC.
Will keep researching it.

I run scan with Norton and then a CA program. Also Pest Patrol,
Secunia Software Inspector, CCleaner, Adaware. I have found that
Norton and CA really keep it clean by themselves. I did try AVG
briefly but it does not get along with Norton so it is outtathere.
Secunia has been very helpful as some programs don't update and many
updates are developed to deal with security flaws. Pest Patrol used
to catch a few things but Norton has become a great deal more burley
in past six months so PP comes clean every time. Adaware also come
clean on it's reviews.

Problem is the scum of the earth are costantly looking at some new
angle to attack people. Have to stay aware and deal with problems
immediately. I don't let anyone touch my PC any more unless I am
there. Someone stuck a damn jumpdrive stick in a couple years ago
that had a virus that took me a bit to deal with. Everyone says they
are careful. Most are just not on their toes or even aware is my
experience.

I will keep reviewing Threatfire to see if perhaps it might be a good
replacement in there somewhere.

Threatfire isn't really a replacement -- it's a supplement. Other
antivirus programs use pattern recognition to identify the bad stuff,
so they tend to be limited to malware that has already been
identified, dissected, and included in an update to the pattern file.
Threatfire looks at behavior, and notifies you when it sees something
that seems suspicious. It's free and just sits there making me feel
more secure. It has never given me any trouble.

I use Microsoft Windows Live One Care. It has the complete feature
set, periodic scans, backups, two way firewall, and it handles up to
three computers. I got into it when I switched to Vista. This machine
came with 3 months of free Norton, but it was taking forever to load.
I still had a license for ZoneAlarm, so I installed it. Big mistake --
it didn't work with Vista. They had a Vista beta, but it was crap. One
Care had a free 3 month download, and it was made by Microsoft so I
figured it would work with Vista -- which it did. Not well reviewed,
but it's easy on the CPU, and I have it installed on my wife's laptop.
This machine is the "hub" and keeps an eye on her laptop. If she
doesn't download the latest patches, gets a virus, turns off the
firewall, or does anything One Care doesn't like, an alarm goes off on
my computer, and I fix it for her. (-8

It's cheap -- Amazon has it for $20 for a one year subscription. It's
being dropped as a commercial product in a few months, but will
continue to be supported for a year after that. It looks like
Microsoft intends give it away free, however it's not clear if the
firewall, and some of the other features will be included. When they
made the announcement there was speculation that it's going to force
people like Norton out of the business. We will see.
.