Microsoft warns over rogue Security Essentials
Not flattered
Regcast training : Hyper-V 3.0, VM high availability and disaster recovery
Microsoft has warned Windows users to be on their guard against a piece of rogue antivirus software passing itself off as Microsoft Security Essentials.
Security essentials 2010 is a piece of software Microsoft said installs a fake virus scanner on your machine and]monitors and blocks processes it doesn't like.
The software will also block access to websites of antivirus and malware companies and flag up a warning message. You can see the list of blocked sites here.
Security essentials 2010 blocks access by downloading a Win32/Alureon component and another Layered Service Provider component, Microsoft's David Wood wrote on the company's Malware Protection Center blog.
"This LSP monitors the TCP traffic sent by various Web browsers that the user might have installed, and blocks any traffic to certain domains," Wood said.
Adding insult to injury, Security essentials 2010 charges you to scan and remove files on your machine, claiming the version you will have initially downloaded is just a trial edition. Microsoft's Security Essentials is available without charge to PC users running a genuine copy of Windows.
Wood noted that it's common practices for rogue antivirus products to pass themselves off as the real deal with a similar look and feel, and it's been commonplace for hackers to mimic Windows Security Center. "It was inevitable that the day would arrive when a rogue would masquerade as something similar to Microsoft Security Essentials. If anything, it surprises me a little that it's taken so long," Wood said.
You can read more here. ®
COMMENTS
Old News
This type of attack has been going on for the past few years. Messages popping up trying to look like popular Anti-Virus products, or XP\Vista's own built in security warnings. It is all about trying to fool the unwary into clicking on the "give us 50 quid" links to get rid of the scary sounding list of infections.
@Bundle It - that would be daft. Then the virus writers would only need to target ONE form of defence which makes it an easier job for them to develop and test viruses. While we still have a competing market of products, then it is harder for a virus to really get hold.
IT IS BUNDLED, sort of
Whe you install Windows 7 the Security centre tells you you need to find an antivirus program (obviously, it isn't installed at first) and then there is a nice link to a nice page with lots of free / pay for ant-virus / internet security downloads including Security Essentials
Worked for me anyway
IT infrastructure monitoring strategies
Agentless Backup is Not a Myth
Top 10 SIEM implementer’s checklist
Steps to Take Before Choosing a Business Continuity Partner
Requirements Checklist for Choosing a Cloud Backup and Recovery Service Provider
