Spyware Techie

Do you use Google’s Gmail and/or Google Calendar? Do you ever get calendar invites sent to you from customer service for any reason?

A recent discovery by Sophos’ Graham Cluley reveals an incident of a message being sent in the form of a Google Calendar invite that is totally bogus. The message is a poor attempt at phishing where it invites you to attend to a fake event. Not only was this message found to be illegitimate but it stands out like a soar thumb with the multiple misspellings including the sender’s name, “customer varification”. Yes, that is how they spelled “verification”, with two a’s.

The sender does do one thing well. The calendar invite looks identical to a real google calendar invite message. Other than that it is obvious that a message sent from customerservice1026@gmail.com is not actually from Google’s Customer Service. Don’t you think they would have used an actual google.com address ie: customerservice@google.com? Maybe this is a case when a “hacker goes wrong” or maybe he is partying a little too hard for this New Year’s party.

Do you know what Total Protect 2009 is?

DESCRIPTION

Total Protect 2009 is a pesky rogue anti-spyware program that may be automatically installed onto many computers over the internet through a Trojan horse infection. Total Protect 2009 may seem to be a security tool that will detect and remove spyware threats but we find that this is not the case. Total Protect 2009 is not good for removal or detection of malware.

Total Protect 2009 is not to be trusted for anything. Total Protect 2009 uses many tricks through bogus popup or alert messages that threaten users of a spyware issue or security threat that is not legitimate. The www.totalprotect2009.com website seems to be created by the makers of Total Protect 2009. It is advisable to avoid visiting the www.totalprotect2009.com web page or you may risk installing the Total Protect 2009 program.

Do you know what Express Antivirus 2009 is?

DESCRIPTION

Express Antivirus 2009 (ExpressAntivirus 2009) is another fake anti-spyware program. Express Antivirus 2009 is an outright imposture that pretends to be just as good as other antivirus programs such as Norton. If you ever end up on the www.expressantivirus2009.com web page then you will know just what we are talking about.

Express Antivirus 2009 is an outrageous application in that it does not remove spyware, viruses or even provide any additional security for your computer. If you are unfortunate enough to have Express Antivirus 2009 installed on your system then you will know that it is a scam from the fake popup messages to the fake system scans.

Do you know what iSafeAntiVirus is?

DESCRIPTION

iSafeAntiVirus or iSafeAntiVirus, is an outrageous clone of VirusRepsonse Lab 2009 which we know from previous experience is a rogue anti-spyware program. iSafe AntiVirus or iSafeAntiVirus is very misleading in that it may scan your system displaying many parasites that it finds on your system but we know the results are fake.

iSafe AntiVirus may also bombard you with many alert messages or popups that are fake as well. Many aspects of iSafe AntiVirus are fake and could potentially be harmful to your computer and the safety of your personal information.

Samsung shipped many digital picture frames infected with a virus known as W32.Sality.AE Trojan horse on the CD provided with the frame.

I knew Santa was a jolly kind of guy but to give me a virus laden digital photo frame for Christmas has me wondering if he is trying to get me back for not leaving him cookies and milk the other night.

Samsung has said that the install CD’s shipped with many models of its digital photo frames may include malware in the form of a Trojan horse program that could give cyber crooks remote access to the infected system. What a way to share the joy of the holiday season right?

“Free Xbox Live Points” from Microsoft Rewards is a Scam

Did you get a new Xbox 360 for Christmas and you want to add some Microsoft Points to your Live account? Microsoft Rewards claims to be giving away points but we have discovered that it is an outright scam.

We are warning our readers today of a new scam that was discovered to be offering free Microsoft Points for those with a Microsoft Xbox 360 that has a Xbox Live account. Thousands of people may have received a new Xbox 360 for Christmas this year and many of them have signed up for a new Xbox Live account. They may have the urge to purchase additional Microsoft Live points so they can download additional content, games and other media to their new Xbox 360 gaming console. What if you were presented with an offer for FREE Microsoft points for your account? Sounds too good to be true right? Well it is just that.

Do you know what Astrum Antivirus Pro is?

DESCRIPTION

Astrum Antivirus Pro is a fake anti-spyware program known to be a clone of Antivirus Trigger and Virus Trigger. All of the mentioned programs were found to perform a vast array of malicious functions in addition to causing havoc on the system that they are installed onto.

Astrum Antivirus Pro, once installed, starts to display numerous security or popup notifications that attempt to notify you of a fake issue or parasite that you must remove. Do not take heed to any messages related to Astrum Antivirus Pro because they are more than likely fake. Astrum Antivirus Pro should be treated as a serious infection that must be removed immediately.

Do you know what System Security is?

DESCRIPTION

System Security or SystemSecurity, is a fake spyware program known to be a clone of the Winweb Security rogue anti-spyware program. We know for certain that Winweb Security is a very dangerous program to have on your computer and now it seems to have a carbon copy called System Security.

Hackers have been naming rogue anti-spyware programs the strangest things lately and now they come up with the ever-so original name, System Security. Come on now, this is another ridiculous name because System Security really does nothing to improve the SECURITY of your SYSTEM.

A list of the most popular Rogue Anti-Spyware Programs of 2008

2008 is over and as we welcome in 2009 we look back this past year and compile a list of the top 10 Rogue Anti-Spyware programs. Many of the programs that we have picked as the top 10 rogue anti-spyware programs are ones that stood out from the crowd and may have infected thousands of computer users all around the world.

Many of the top 10 programs in our list are still currently causing issues among computer users over the internet. Others you may find have died out to the point that security researchers and security websites are no longer discussing them. Either way, each of the programs remains to be dangerous and should never be downloaded, installed or purchased under any circumstances.

Do you know what Trojan.Monder is?

DESCRIPTION

Trojan.Monder was discovered to be a Trojan horse infection that is known to perform many malicious actions that may bring harm or damage to an infected computer. Trojan.Monder does not replicate itself such as in the case of a computer virus but it does have it’s own way of causing havoc.

Trojan.Monder may hide itself from being discovered by populating different locations of your computer’s hard drive. Trojan.Monder may be stored in different folders which can make it very hard to detect and remove in some situations. Trojan.Monder may install other malware and automatically scan your system where it will start to display many popup messages. The messages caused by Trojan.Monder are usually fake and should only be taken as a warning that you must remove Trojan.Monder.