Rogues Get Tricky: Antivirus 2011 has New Disguises

Antivirus 2011 looks (and even sounds) harmless enough, but this rogue program will take advantage of unwary internet surfers.

The malware, disguised by AVG’s name and logo, will send a pop-up to your screen stating that you have infected programs and suggesting you buy and install the antivirus program. Should you follow those instructions, Antivirus 2011 will actually infect your computer instead of clearing the threats. In some cases, it will ask you to delete programs that came with the computer and have no problems. Upon deleting such programs, your computer may have trouble running correctly.

Antivirus 2011 shouldn’t be confused with the real antivirus software from AVG, which works just fine, but you should be suspicious of any unprompted computer security pop-ups that come to your screen.

The illegal use of AVG’s logo is an upgrade from the rogue’s previous version, Antivirus 2010. The earlier version also appeared secure to users, who downloaded it only to have their money stolen and data ravaged. Under the logo of a trusted antivirus product, Antivirus 2011 is more dangerous to all users, especially those who download stuff without knowing what they're actually downloading.

There have been reports of the malware installing itself on computers without permission. To protect against unauthorized downloads, it's best to purchase trusted antivirus and antispyware software. The two viruses have infected thousands of computers, but luckily many legitimate antivirus software products offer free downloads to clean up infected computers.

It’s common for fake antivirus software to copy the appearance of many existing antivirus brands, so never download anything unless you’re sure of where it comes from and what it will do. If you get a notification from Antivirus 2011 or Antivirus 2010 that asks for permission to scan and download, don’t click Yes or No – just close the window.

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