subject: Feeling Unsafe With Total Security Rogue Software [print this page] Total Security is one of the nastiest pieces of rogue software that is floating around the Internet. The software attempts to mimic a real antivirus program, but instead really only tries to trick its users into buying more software that is useless. The software is installed either with a Trojan, or by tricking people into installing it themselves with websites that appear to have everyone's best interest at heart.
Once Total Security installs itself on a computer it begins to take over the computer and make it appear that it can fix the many problems that it found on the computer. It will run a scan of the computer and find a multitude of infections on the computer none of which exist. If the fake scan is not enough to fool someone the program will also remind the user that their computer is infected with a variety of popups and list of infections and problems with the computer. Making it even less obvious that it is not a legitimate piece of software is the Total Security Center portion of the program that attempts to be like Windows Security Center. This can lead to confusion in many people who are not as computer literate as it can trick them into believing that the software comes from or is associated with Microsoft. When the user decided that they have had enough and want to remove all the problems that were found Total Security will popup another message that says the only way to remove the problems are by purchasing the full version of the software. The software should not be purchased as it does not do anything, the program needs to be removed, and if purchased the charge needs to be disputed right away with the appropriate credit card company.
Since the infections that Total Security found do not exist it is safe to install this software as it does not perform any useful task. Removing the rogue software is difficult because it will stop most antivirus programs from running and removing the program. Internet Explorer is also vulnerable to attack as it can be hijacked and stop the user from visiting sites that can aid in the removal of the program. The first step that needs to be taken to remove the software is to go to the Task Manager and stop the processes that were started by Total Security. From there a reputable antispyware should be run to remove the software and any other files that it created with its install. If that does not fix everything there are step by step guides that can help anyone remove the rogue software.
