Your Best Security Options Dont Include Antivir!
Simulated scan results, pop-up after pop-up, slow loading times
, frequent redirects: these are all signs of a rogue antivirus program. What are these programs? How do you recognize them? And how do programs like Antivir affect your computer?
What is Antivir?
Antivir, also known as Antivir 2010 and Antivir Antivirus, is a typical rogue antivirus program. There are scores of these programs, but they generally behave the same way and they always have the same goal. The goal for Antivir is to persuade you to buy their software. To do this, it creates pop-ups warning of security threats and scan results listing infected files. If you have these severe threats, why not buy Antivir? There are two good reasons not to: there are no threats, and there is no Antivir protection. Buying the program wont resolve security issues, nor will it protect your computer from future risks.
Is Antivir In Your System?
When they first enter your system, rogue antivirus programs are quite stealthy. They hide in your system registry and quietly manipulate your security settings. After they have modified them so they evade detection by your legitimate security programs, they begin to operate more openly and overtly. Each time you boot up your computer, Antivir will launch itself and remain running the entire time in the background. You may not be able to see it, but you will notice a significant slowdown as the resource-hog diverts power from your legitimate programs. The changes start to become far more noticeable.
One of the hallmarks of rogue antivirus programs is the pop-up, and Antivir is no exception. The rogue program generates warning messages in order to convince you that there are several unresolved security risks in your system. These can be persuasive, especially because they become so frequent. They tend to target security issues that people are most likely to act on, including password and data stealing. A typical one reads:
Trojan:W32/Inject Activity Detected
Trojan:W32/Inject is a large family of malware that secretly makes changes to the Windows Registry. Variants in the family may also make changes to other running processes.
Another type of pop-up generated by Antivir is false security scans. It is important to always take the time to be skeptical of these. Those issued by Antivir have no name on the window at all, which is unusual even for rogue programs. At the top, it reads, Attention! Threats found. It will tell you how many, which can be as many as several hundreds of threats, and list them each with a brief description and recommended action. You have the option to remove them all using Antivirs full version. It is important to remember that this, like the warning messages, is just a pop-up. Those files listed are either harmless ones created by Antivir or legitimate and un-corrupted files. In either case, they pose no threat to your computer or data.
Redirects and changed browser settings are common among rogue antivirus programs. Antivir will try to block you from certain sites by issuing warnings like the following:
Warning! Visiting this site may harm your computer!
This web site probably contains malicious software program, which can cause damage to your computer or perform actions without your permission. Your computer may be infected after visiting such a site.
You may find your home page has been replaced with a rogue site offering Antivirs services in exchange for your credit card information. Navigating to other sites can become difficult. In addition, Antivir can block certain sites, particularly those of legitimate security programs, and can block your current antivirus program from running as well. If left in your system, this creates a security vulnerability that other forms of malware could exploit.
How Did Antivir Get In?
The pop-up warnings and ads you see are part of the free version of Antivirs campaign to persuade you to buy the full software. Antivir can enter your computer without your knowledge or consent via Trojan. Most often, those associated with Antivir affect sites with false online scanners, but they also affect sites with adult, gaming, warez, freeware, and social networking content. Trojans linked to Antivir are also known to use social engineering (invitations, links, etc.) to distribute malware; so if you click on a link or invitation from an unknown name or address, it is likely that this link is affected by Trojans and malware. These Trojans bring Antivir in, as well as other forms of spyware and adware.
The paid version is installed by computer users directly. The pop-ups can be very convincing, and many people act out of the understandable desire to protect their systems. However, there is no difference, other than the money you have paid, between the free and paid versions. Either can impede your computers performance and create vulnerabilities in your system. Immediate Antivir removal is necessary to get your computer back in top running condition.
by: Ms Mindy Matter
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