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Anti-Virus

Conficker also installs fake antivirus software

Researchers have discovered another feature of the Conficker worm that provides an additional clue about the intent of the creators--the worm installs malware that masquerades as antivirus software, Trend Micro said on Friday.

The worm, which has infected millions of Windows-based computers on the Internet, is downloading a program called Spyware Protect 2009 and displaying warning messages saying that the computer is infected and offering to clean it up for $49.95, according to the Trend Micro blog.

The infection alerts repeatedly appear and experts are worried that people may be clicking on them and paying for the software just … Read more

Report: Rogue antivirus software pays off for scammers

Updated March 23, 5:03 a.m. PDT with a link to the new Cybercrime Intelligence Report.

Online scammers are making a lucrative business out of redirecting visitors from legitimate Web sites to sites that try install rogue antivirus software, according to a report due to be released by security firm Finjan on Monday.

Finjan's Malicious Code Research Center came across a traffic management server in Ukraine used by underground online scammers to keep track of how many redirects their rogue antivirus sites get from legitimate sites that have been compromised.

Typically, rogue antivirus software displays a message saying … Read more

New antivirus software looks at behaviors, not signatures

It could be argued that security vendors are losing the battle with online scammers whose programs sneak onto computers and drop malicious programs, opening the computers up to remote attacks and turning them into zombies in botnet armies.

The problem is that most computers today rely on antivirus software that blocks malware by checking the code in a file against a database of signatures of known viruses. With thousands of new viruses arriving each day, many of them encrypted in part or otherwise disguised with modification, the signature lists require frequent updates and many new viruses slip through undetected.

As … Read more

New scareware sends you to fake Download.com reviews

Last week, BleepingComputer.com reported on how to remove a new variant of an old scareware. This new nasty, known most commonly as Antivirus2010 or Anti-Virus-1, points you to spoofed versions of Download.com, ZDNet, PCMag.com, and other software sites, demanding that you download their program to clean your computer. Of course, it does nothing of the sort, merely perpetuating the infection.

However, the manner and methods Anti-Virus-1 uses to get you there are extremely clever. The infection part of the malware does whatever it's been designed to do, so you can see that you've been infected … Read more

Top 10 download videos of the year

There's a lot that goes on behind the scenes here at CNET Download.com, and that includes the videos we editors create for the products we find most worthy--or the ones you keep coming back to time and again.

In that vein, we've stuffed this glorious playlist with the the top 10 software videos you watched on our site in 2008. Take a look--you may wind up with a new app you never knew you needed!

(Hint: Click the word "Playlist" to view the whole list or skip ahead.)

Here are the winners:

1. AVG Anti-Virus Free 8 … Read more

Newest antivirus in town isn't quite new

On paper, Lavasoft Anti-Virus Helix contains the most sought-after components of antivirus applications: malicious software blockers, on-the-fly detection, a scanner, malicious software removal, and protection from e-mail viruses and Web threats. It offers full system scanning and lets you pick from preset scans or create a profile to scan a smaller portion of your PC, for instance, just your 'C' drive. But that shouldn't be a surprise once you realize that the product is virtually identical to Avira AntiVir. If you already use an Avira product, there's no reason to switch to Anti-Virus Helix.

Nevertheless, Lavasoft's Anti-Virus … Read more

Ad-Aware gets an antivirus cousin

Updated December 17 at 9:00 a.m. PST with a comment from Lavasoft.

Lavasoft on Monday unveiled a new antivirus application it hopes will do as well as its runaway hit Ad-Aware.

The encore, Lavasoft Anti-Virus Helix, is Lavasoft's first full-fledged antivirus application. The problem is, it's nearly identical to one that already exists: Avira AntiVir.

A Lavasoft vice president told CNET in an e-mail:

Yes, we do have a technology partnership with Avira for the anti-virus engine technology, as our company expertise is in anti-spyware. We have customers who have been asking us for years to … Read more

Full suite of protection

Though not as well-known as some competitors, this antivirus program offers rock-solid protection. AVG Anti-Virus provides all the necessities, including a tool for scanning your hard drive and e-mail, as well as a real-time shield to prevent infections.

You'll find a full-blown scheduling utility for automating tasks and checking for new definitions as often as you'd like. Other perks found in this Pro version include technical support and the ability to run on multiple operating systems. Should a virus create serious system problems, AVG creates a rescue disk to scan your computer in MS-DOS mode.

The program doesn'… Read more