Microsoft has taken aim at a rogue anti-virus program called Internet Antivirus Pro.
The company's latest update to its Windows MSRT (Malicious Software Removal Tool), released Tuesday, adds detection for this dubious program, which masquerades as security software.
[ Learn how to secure your systems with Roger Grimes' Security Adviser blog and Security Central newsletter, both from InfoWorld. ]
Like all of these rogue anti-virus products, Internet Antivirus Pro tries to trick victims into installing the software. It pops up a fake warning message and then pretends to scan the victim's computer. But instead of scanning for malicious software, Internet Antivirus downloads password-stealing software that looks for FTP user names and passwords, presumably so that its creators can install their software on Web servers.
Internet Antivirus installs a browser component that displays fake messages, and it pops up a fake Windows Security Center, Microsoft said in a blog posting Tuesday.
The software has also used the names General Antivirus and Personal Antivirus.
Rogue anti-virus software has been on the rise over the past year and was among the most-detected unwanted software on Windows PCs during the second half of last year, Microsoft said in its recent Security Intelligence Report.
Two rogue Trojans, Renos and Zlob, were found on more than 8 million infected machines, Microsoft said. They use similar techniques to get installed on victims PCs.
Internet Antivirus has been around since the middle of 2008, but it became much more of a problem, starting in mid-April, according to Ben Greenbaum, a senior research manager with Symantec. "It looks like there was a big push," he said. "Either they've started selling it to other groups, or the original authors are making a much larger attempt to get this on people's machines."
This isn't the first time Microsoft has gone after a rogue antivirus program. Last month it issued detection for a program called Winwebsec. In November, it added FakeSecSen.
Microsoft updated the MSRT as part of its monthly set of security updates. This month's set of patches was a whopper, with critical updates for Windows, Internet Explorer and Office. In all, the updates fix 31 vulnerabilities.
This whitepaper explains the terminology and concepts behind Data Replication technologies and establishes some sizing rules through worked examples. Learn the new paradigm in disaster tolerance—protect data anywhere.
Download now »
Server virtualization is a popular option for dealing with mounting datacenter costs. Another equally promising approach is the use of an Application Delivery Controller. Citrix NetScaler provides a low-cost way for organizations to reduce their server count and accrue cost savings from a reduction in space, cooling, power and personnel.
Download now »
The emergence of WLANs has created a new breed of security threats to enterprise networks.
Included in HP ProCurve WLAN solutions is security technology that alleviates threats from WLANs through:
* Monitoring wireless activity inside and out of the enterprise
* Classifying WLAN transmissions into harmful and harmless
* Preventing transmissions that pose a security threat to the enterprise network
* Locating participating devices for physical remediation
Effectively address data protection challenges, implementing solutions that help store and protect business–critical data while cutting costs and improving efficiency and reliability.
Download now »
Sign up to receive InfoWorld Resource Alerts
This white paper provides guidance on how to develop a strategic approach to managing and monitoring logs, a key function required for compliance with many regulatory mandates and a critical defense against security threats.
Download now! »
Learn about the processes and technologies that support security information management (SIM) operations, as well as the business case for SIM. The series examines different options for implementing SIM and gives you evaluation criteria for selecting the best option for your organization.
Download now! »
Learn the strategies, actions, and capabilities that Best-in-Class organizations employ and technologies they choose to obtain superior performance against various security performance metrics. This report provides guidelines for identifying which security solutions to consume as a MSS and defines best practices for choosing and managing MSSPs.
Download now! »
67 Recommendations
