This has been an irony that has pretty much been happening since the birth of spyware.  I have seen instances of this on many people’s computers, and chances are many people fall to this scam on a daily basis.  The best thing you can do to seriously prevent spyware is to only stick with trusted names like Norton, McAfee, Kasperky, NOD32, Webroot, etc. etc.  Going with third-party solutions, especially if their website looks sketchy will only lead to more problems down the road.  Trust me, it’s worth spending the money now versus having to deal with stuff like identity theft in the future…

I absentmindedly hit the “yes” box on a supposed security update purporting to be a Microsoft site and got bitten.

I plugged the name of the virus into Google and got a “guaranteed fix,” which turned out to be more spyware, called “SpyNoMore.” It would remove all but about two supposed spyware and viruses and then say it would have to shut down and restart to remove them.

Once it restarted, it would autoscan and report numerous additional spyware incidents and infestations. I have updated my Microsoft and McAfee Security, but I am afraid the virus and spyware are still there.

Can you tell me how to get rid of these problems?

Unfortunately, malware masquerading as fixes to spyware or virus problems is common and, in fact, has recently generated several queries to this column.

Incidents like this, which trick people into infecting their own systems, underscore the need to know about the trustworthiness of software before installing it, said Jeff Crume, an IT security expert with IBM.

With a number of reputable antivirus and antispyware tools available, there is no need to take a chance on lesser-known programs that might not be effective and legitimate, Crume said.[more]

Tags: Malware