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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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9

Virus 'Scareware' Scams Millions

Alarming virus warnings part of major rip off

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(Newser) – Alarming warnings that internet surfers' computers are being invaded by a devastating virus are almost always scams used to either hack into computers or rip off consumers for phony protective software. More than 40 million people have fallen victim to the "scareware" scam in the past year. Experts have identified some 250 versions of the scareware scam, and estimate that crooks make $1.2 million selling fake software alone.

Some 40 million internet uses have been ripped off in scareware scams.
Some 40 million internet uses have been ripped off in scareware scams.   (©Remko van Dokkum)
What evil lurks in your computer?
What evil lurks in your computer?   (©totally pixelated)
Alarming alerts that your computer has been invaded by a virus are often part of a
Alarming alerts that your computer has been invaded by a virus are often part of a "scareware" con.   (©elecnix)
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cochiserocks
Oct 19, 09 5:39 AM CDT
I'm sorry, but anyone who buys into a pop-up is not really thinking straight. They need to demystify the whole computer thing - it's really not that complicated - but just like car mechanics, plumbing or electrics - if you don't make the effort to give yourself a basic grounding and just leave it up to the 'professionals' - sooner or later, you'll be taken advantage of - with only yourself to blame. Reply
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RockyPneumonia
Oct 19, 09 6:49 AM CDT
They don't look like popups; they look like normal Windows system warnings. Reply
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2-bits
Oct 19, 09 9:05 AM CDT
Seriously, it's still in a browser window, and windows never delivers error messages in a browser window. I imagine you could make a pop-up dialog box in Javascript but that would still look pretty unconvincing. You know what's fun? Seeing Windows XP style dialog boxes in Windows Vista or Linux. Yeah, they clearly put a lot of effort into making it convincing people. /sarcasm. To be fair, maybe you are referring to some strange class of ad that I am unaware, but all I have seen so far are elaborate but still rather poor fakes.
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Unaffiliated
Oct 19, 09 1:34 PM CDT
The problem is many people are barely computer-/internet-savvy enough to know what a browser window even IS. I've tried to help my mother-in-law, who's really smarter than she'll admit to herself, but she just *believes* she's no good at computers. Because of that, she's nearly helpless when trying to talk her through something over the phone.
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spdavid
Oct 19, 09 8:00 AM CDT
I have had this happen several times.You have no way of knowing it is fake until you've seen it enough times to know.It WILL scare you.It will also set you up so you think you have no alternative but to install etc.When it happens the solution is to reboot and/or pull the plug.Once you do that everything is back to normal.DO NOT install the software etc even if no matter what you click you can't get out of the situation.Not being able to actually cancel or get out of it is a clear sign it's fake.Learn to recognize the real thing versus the fake and they'll never get you. Reply
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