Rogue Security Programs Escalating

According to Trend Micro, rogue security programs are on the rise. Rogue security programs are the latest threat to exploit social engineering techniques for monetary gains on the Web.

Based upon data from Trend Micro TrendLabs, rogue security programs have increased from 2% in early 2006 to over 10% in March 2007.

The rogue software resembles legitimate security software running in trial mode on the user’s PC. Pop-up windows, hijacked browser homepages, and hijacked desktop wallpaper, are repeatedly used to warn the user that their PC has been infected. In many cases, the cyber criminals design the warnings to resemble Microsoft Windows alerts. The programs indicate that some form of a virus or spyware infection has been identified and that the only recourse is to purchase software to clean the infection.

According to George Moore, threat researcher, Trend Micro, “Rogue security programs are clearly on the rise. Therefore users must demonstrate caution and always be alert when downloading software. In addition they need to protect their systems by using the latest security software against Web threats.”

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Best practices to avoid infection by rogue security programs, as suggested by Trend Micro:

• Purchase and use only legitimate, trusted, branded security software.
• If notified of an infection, seek a second opinion from a reputable online scanning service.
• When purchasing security software, check online reviews and feedback from users.
• Check the validity of the software against lists of rogue software compiled by independent analysts.