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“Antivirus XP 2008” scareware a lucrative “business”

Posted on by Harvard Townsend (harv@ksu.edu)

A recent article in the New York Times reported that the people responsible for the “Antivirus XP 2008” scam and it’s successor “Antivirus XP 2009” can theoretically make as much as $5 million a year. This type of scam, often referred to as “scareware,” tries to trick the user into buying fake antivirus software by scaring them with false reports of infections. A naive user panics when the warnings pop up on their computer and hands over $49.95, thinking they will get software to disinfect their computer. Instead, all they get is a smaller bank account, a computer that is very difficult to repair, and a lesson learned the hard way.

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XP Antivirus 2008 malware difficult to remove; requires reformat/reinstall

Posted on by Harvard Townsend (harv@ksu.edu)

If your computer gets infected with the malicious program “XP Antivirus 2008” or one of its variants, you must reformat the hard drive(s) and reinstall all software and data before returning the computer to service and using it on K-State’s campus network. The criminals responsible for this malware are primarily trying to trick people into sending them money under the guise of buying software to clean up an “infected” computer.  However, K-State has seen several instances where other types of malware get installed at the same time as XP Antivirus 2008, including backdoor trojans and software that uses the computer to send thousands of spam messages. Continue reading “XP Antivirus 2008 malware difficult to remove; requires reformat/reinstall” →