Google On The Lookout for Malicious ‘Anti-Virus’ Software

One recurring theme on this blog is the education of users with regards to online security, knowledge about the techniques used can arm users how to keep their data and computers safe while online.

The Google Online Security Blog has recently discussed a particularly unusual technique that is being employed to run potentially malicious code on a user’s computer. Traditionally people have found their computers compromised into running malicious code by so called ‘drive-by downloads’ –  a program forced onto a users machine via security errors in software such as web browsers (one big reason to make sure your browser is kept up to date!)

This new technique actually preys on the users concern that there may be a problem with their machine, fooling them with reports of viruses and using their understandable desire to sort the problem to actually compound the issue by installing fake anti-virus software.

Google is also engaged in working to protect users by delivering warnings via search results and in browsers, but in addition they have also spent the last 13 months researching a paper on the prevalence of fake anti-virus software called “The Nocebo Effect on the Web: An Analysis of Fake AV Distribution”. One fact found was that for 240million web pages analysed in 13 months 11,000 domains were found to be involved in the distribution of fake anti-virus software. That was around 15% of the malware domains found.

So what can I do to protect myself?

The big one is keeping your software up to date, if there are security updates to your web browser or operating system then keeping your software up to date will help protect you from people attacking your machine via security flaws.

Install proper anti-virus and anti-malware software and keep it up to date. This software will monitor your machine for malicious programs and help to keep you protected. Unsure what software can be trusted? This Google help article contains links to some main brand software manufacturers in addition to the free Google Pack which also contains anti-virus and anti-malware software.

..More information can be found on the Google Online Security Blog.

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About Adam

• Search The Human Body With Google Body Browser - December 21, 2010
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• How Do Twitter & Facebook’s 2010 Trends Compare With Google’s? - December 14, 2010
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• Google Chrome Gets Store And Talks Chrome OS - December 8, 2010
• Google Issues Security Email For Website Optimiser - December 7, 2010
• Google Launches AdWords Global Market Finder - December 7, 2010
• New Android Phone Promises A Pure Experience - December 7, 2010
• Google AdWords Wants Your Products! - December 3, 2010
• Know How Mobile Internet Affects Your Website? Google Analytics does… - December 2, 2010

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