In the last year, I have been seeing an increase in the number of computers infected with fake anti-virus and anti-spyware programs.
How do you tell if you have one of these? The tell-tale signs are easy to spot:
1) It suddenly appears and you have no memory of installing it.
2) It has a name that starts with “Win”-something. This doesnt include Windows Defender, not because it is a Microsoft program, but because it spells out “windows”.
Fake programs only use “win”, like WinAntivirus 2008.
3) You get a little yellow balloon pop-up that says “You have “x” number of infections. Click here to fix.” (Where x is a number.)
What you can do about it (aside from calling me) is restart into Safe Mode and then run your AV program.
And of course, use Firefox.