McAfee's "Dirty Dozen" List Calls Out Fake AV and Utility Programs
McAfee's "Dirty Dozen" List Calls Out Fake AV and Utility Programs
Posted 04/26/2011 at 11:46am
| by Paul Lilly
33
Comments
Print
How many times have you been called to fix a PC that was invested with malware, only to discover that the user fell for one of the oldest tricks in the malware Bible, fake AV and utility programs? It's a common occurrence because, well, it simply works. Fake AV programs disguised as legitimate security software is getting tougher to discern from the real deal, and that's bad news for less savvy computer users. Security vendor McAfee put together a "Dirty Dozen" list of the most common fake AV software and utilities, and some of the entries might just surprise you.
McAfee's Dirty Dozen list, according to the security firm's Virus Removal Service, is as follows:
- AntiVirus Scan
- Anti Vira AV
- System Tool
- Smart Internet Protection 2011
- Fast Disk
- Good Memory
- Disk Optimizer
- AVG AntiVirus
- Palladium Pro
- Windows System Optimizer
- Windows Security & Control
- Windows Utility Tool
McAfee Labs identified more than 20 million new pieces of malware in 2010, and if you punch that into a calculator, it breaks down to almost 55,000 new malware threats every day.
"More specifically, McAfee Labs discovered approximately 200,000 unique fake alert samples in December 2010 alone," a McAfee spokesperson told Maximum PC in an email. "Cybercriminals prey on consumers' fears that their computer will become infected by creating malware in the form of fake security products with extremely generic names like 'AntiVirus Scan' or 'System Tool,' and even exploit real brand names like Windows, AVG, and Avira."
McAfee's preaching to the choir when it comes to Maximum PC readers, but hey, if nothing else, it wouldn't hurt to pass this list along to your own 'Dirty Dozen,' those being the ones you most frequently find yourself fixing their PC.
More like this
33
Comments
Comments are closed on this article
schneider1492
May 02, 2011 at 1:02pm
How many times have you been called to fix a PC that was invested with malware, only to discover that the user fell for one of the oldest tricks in the malware Bible, fake AV and utility programs?
lol, so if the malware pays off do the owners of pc's invested in malware get a share of the profits?
i-see-you
April 27, 2011 at 6:31am
Since when has AVG become a Virus? I've always used avg on clients computers and as far as i could tell it WAS one of the top AV programs for a while.
As for Norton, ive never seen a positive comback with their software. It slows the comp a shitload and in a gaming fashion, it sucks.
I use ESET Internet Security Suite 4 with NOD32 and it works amazingly, every infiltration that has attempted to get into my computer has been stopped. Since ive used ESET i have yet to successfully get a virus.
Malefactor
April 27, 2011 at 10:12pm
AVG is not malware, cybercriminals are using AVG's brand and logos to try to confuse their victims, making them think they're installing AVG when they're actually installing malware. The fake AVG is of course not produced by AVG Technologies.
PCDoc
April 27, 2011 at 7:44am
The AVG question has been covered ad nauseum.
Your information about Norton is 6 years outdated and incorrect.
Malefactor
April 27, 2011 at 10:16pm
I wouldn't say it's outdated or incorrect. Percieved product performance differs depending upon your own opinion and experiences with products. Just as you say Norton is alright, while many of the rest of us feel it absolutely sucks. Just as you don't feel AVG does a good job, but others do.
It's more a matter of opinion and experience. Maybe you've had a good experience with Norton, perhaps some of these other people had bad experiences with Norton, and that's where their opinions are coming from?
PCDoc
April 28, 2011 at 2:32am
People's complaints about Norton being a resource hog is based upon the software Pre-2007 or so. That is not the case anymore. Norton Internet Security now uses less system resources, to do it's thing, than AVG FREE. Opinion and fact are two different things. I realize that in this day and age, fact is now the happiest or the answer that makes people feel good as opposed to actual fact but the numbers and performance don't lie.
You can't wear a blindfold and then go around yelling that it's always dark to people who know better.
If you do not like the software because it's too difficult to understand, that's one thing but to say that it ldoes not offer adequate protection is incorrect. You can not like the color of the interface because you were once swarmed by bumblebees. That is opinion. But to say that it is a system hog, is incorrect. End Users will do all kinds of things to ensure that certain things do not work. You cannot turn off the firewall or not update your software or even purchase the digital download, download it and leave it in the downloads folder and complain that it does not work. User error or misunderstanding does not make the software inadequate.
In my 20 years, in my experience, everyone who has used a decent AV suite that 'didn't work', has been coming from a place of user error. ESPECIALLY with Norton because of all of the supposed techs and consultants who bash it out of ignorance.
PCDoc
April 26, 2011 at 8:57pm
There are a million others out there too. I see and repair hundreds of them a day. Some are worse than others. Many are parts of identity theft rings. Not sure, given the latest round of AV Suites testing that I hold much stock in anything McAfee says. This partial list is only the tip of the iceburg and doesn't even mention most of the prevalent issues, fake AV, Malware and Registry cleaners out there today.
davidtuerk
April 26, 2011 at 4:46pm
I dont use norton, crap for a fee or AVG. I just use Mbam and microsoft security essentials, havent had a problem yet!
PCDoc
April 26, 2011 at 8:47pm
Why do the people who never have a clue as to what they are talking about, always bash Norton first? Norton isn't even on the list, no one mentioned it and you are....well..wrong. Norton has consistantly been upping their game since they redesigned the software 5 years or so ago, and even before that, they had really good protection. Now, their footprint is lighter than ever and they constantly distinguish themselves as one of the top rated AV suites out there.
Most of the time, when people tell me that they have no problems with their security suite, it's because it means that it alerts them to nothing that is actually going on. Of course you're not going to worry about that keystroke logger that you downloaded from Frostwire because you have no clue that it's there.
The least informed always seem to speak first and the loudest.
szore
April 27, 2011 at 5:49am
Norton is crap simply because they charge a fee. MSE works better and its free.
Malefactor
April 27, 2011 at 12:32am
That guy didn't bash Norton at all. He just said he doesn't use Norton, and that he uses MSE and Malwarebytes and hasn't had any problems. That's as much him bashing Norton as me saying I drive a Ford and it hasn't given me any trouble (well, that would be a lie) is me bashing Chevy.
PCDoc
April 27, 2011 at 5:46am
'crap for a fee'
Doesn't look very happy to me.
Mentioning it at all has no bearing on the article.
big_montana
April 27, 2011 at 5:44am
Sure he bashed Norton, with the phrase "crap for a fee" that came right after the word Norton. That is bashing in any book
Malefactor
April 27, 2011 at 10:22pm
I'm pretty sure that when he said, "crap for a fee" that he was alluding to McAfee. Notice how he separated it with a comma from Norton? If you look at it again, you'll see "crap for a fee" is item 2 in a list of 3 separate products: Norton, McAfee, and AVG. It's a play on words to insult McAfee. He did bash McAfee, but not Norton. ;)
ferariman
April 26, 2011 at 4:40pm
OOOOHHH mcafee! you forgot one. lately its been going by the alias of "Mcafee Antivirus 2011." it gets people to download it, then it nags them to pay. and then when they do, it sits back and does nothing, making you think its protecting you. Old Norton did better than you do now!!!
tragikkoncepts
April 26, 2011 at 4:40pm
The AVG AntiVirus listed above is actually the rogue (fake) version as the real version of AVG is AVG Anti-Virus, yes there are copycat software that look the same and almost have the same looking websites too. So when you are reading the text on these sites the real site will have properly written paragraphs where as the fake ones will contain spelling errors. If anyone is unsure of where to download any Anti-Virus software from the actual vendors and not the fake ones, just click on this link: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/antivirus-partners/windows-7.aspx. All of them have been approved by Microsoft as legitimate security software providers, anything else that is not showing on this page is a rogue. Also, if you want a more detailed list of all the rogue security software that many fall for, check out this list: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rogue_security_software.
Keith E. Whisman
April 26, 2011 at 1:33pm
What about McAfee Free Security Scan and Norton Free Security Scan? They just install and give your nags to go to their website and buy their stuff. How is the Free Security Scan option not malware?
It's like the already checked option for publish to facebook below. Malware.
PCDoc
April 26, 2011 at 8:54pm
Those are 'OMG, I don't have a good AV Suite on my PC and may have caught something and now after the fact want to try to fix it' apps. They do not run an active scan type of protection on your PC. All of the top vendors have them.
Your understanding of what the software is, does not make it any less viable as what it is supposed to be.
Dynotaku
April 26, 2011 at 1:29pm
AVG AntiVirus? Did they get bought and turned in to malware, or is that an almost-the-same-but-not-exatly-the-same-name. They used to be my go-to before the integrated MS one.
Malefactor
April 26, 2011 at 11:57pm
No, no one has purchased AVG nor has AVG turned to making malware. As others have already stated, this is a ripoff of the brand name and logos in order to confuse uninformed consumers, who think they're installing AVG, a reputable and effective AV product, when they're actually installing malware. http://viruslab.blog.avg.com/2011/01/be-aware-of-rogue-security-software.html
TechLarry
April 26, 2011 at 1:29pm
Fine. So McAfee has a list.
How about BLOCKING THE !@#$!@$# THINGS McAfee?
I get 2-3 dozen infections of these a week, and we have McAfee Corp. It's useless against these.
Hg Dragon
April 27, 2011 at 4:56pm
Let me preface this with the fact that I don't know anything aout managing another AV solution. We use Kaspersky's corporate solutions at my workplace and I am the main administrator of it.
The problem is this: in order to block a lot of things like these fake AV's, you have to really clamp down on what is or isn't permissable with your AV rules. However, this causes a problem for some users who need to allow certain behaviours form website or applications. It's a big balancing act between maximum security and usabilty for users.
Sure, I could completely lock down everything and never have to pull a workstation for an A-squared/Malwarebytes/Hijack this!/SUPERanti-Spyware/Spybot/AdAware/CCleaner/SmitFraudFix session again. I would also have users lighting up my phone because such-and-such website won't work properly because the AV won't allow them to run a needed ActiveX or JAVA script. Or whatever program they use daily is constantly quaratined because the heuristics settins are too high.
So you simply have to find that happy middle ground between usablity for most userss and the least amnount of work for yourself when you manage a corprate enviroment. it would please me to no end to simply deny any and all "risky behaviours" so I never have to clean up or reimage another PC. But I also don't want people calling me every 10-15 minutes to simply allow some webpage or application o do what ot's supposed to do because I'd rather be left alone for the day.
dmd1101
April 26, 2011 at 1:36pm
LOOOOL that's so true. We have McAfee at my work as well, and <sarcasm> it does a great job detecting and removing these fake antivirus applications </sarcasm>
Alenic
April 26, 2011 at 1:23pm
What's up with AVG being on the list. I have used it for over 5 years with no issue. Has anyone had any issues with AVG?
PCDoc
April 26, 2011 at 8:50pm
It's a different product.
In answer to your question....NO. AVG gives me no trouble. I love how much business it brings me when it fails to stop intrusions, viruses, keystroke loggers, etc. It's kinda cute/pathetic when I do a scan with Malwarebytes and after it located something, AVG pops up and says, "Oh! Look what I found!" on the machines it's been residing on for a year. AVG is like the retarded cousin I never had.
Malefactor
April 27, 2011 at 12:33am
You just called a guy out above for attacking an AV vendor for no reason (Norton), then you go and do the same? -_-
My clients and I use AVG, and I've never had to deal with many infections on my client's computers or my own. I compliment AVG with Malwarebytes, which does a great job of cleaning up anything that does get through, but not much tends to get past AVG in my experience. So I find it odd that for your clients AVG doesn't seem to do a good job. Of course I'm also involved in educating people on how to practice safe browsing habits, and I educate my clients as well.
Personally I think that's the best route, it does end up bringing me less income from malware cleanups because they're using AVG and practicing safe browsing habits, but it also helps to build trust with my clients and gives me time to focus on things that provide value to my clients, rather than having to constantly clean up messes because I neglect to educate them on how to stay safe. In the end I still make decent money and my clients have a better experience, giving me an edge on the other guys who are just trying to rake in as much money as they can off repeatedly cleaning up malware, offering the excuses like "Well, you really should switch to this product" or, "there's really not much you can do about it" rather than actually telling them something useful that can help them keep from getting infected again.
I'm not sure if the majority of people in our line of work neglect to do that because they're just sort of crooked and hope to make as much money off other people's lack of technical knowledge or if they just don't have enough in-depth knowledge themselves to offer useful advice, but either way I believe in being honest with my clients and sharing my knowledge to benefit others. So far it's paid off very well for me, perhaps even more so than if I had just dishoestly raked in their cash every 6 months when they inevitably got infected again, partly due to negligence on my behalf to inform them.
I don't mean to get up on a soapbox, but personally, I feel that I owe more than just a simple break-fix service to my clients. I am a consultant, not a bench technician, and as such I feel it is my duty to share my knowlege with them for their benefit, that's what they're paying me the big bucks for when I'm consulting, my knowledge, so why should I deny them that? I personally can't look up to someone as an expert when they sit back and fix the problem without actually providing any real value to their customers. I personally view that person as about as qualified as a bench technician, the guy who sits in the back and tinkers with things, isn't qualified to interact with customers, and knows just enough to replace the hardware parts and do rudimentary software troubleshooting (like running malwarebytes on infected computers) on the computers he's working on.
Just things from another prospective, perhaps something to think about with the way you treat your clients and just how valuable an asset you are to them? All it takes is for a guy who is committed to actually helping them and providing a quality customer service experience to pop-up in your area and it could really end up hurting business if you just turn around the same break-fix issues over and over. Think about it this way, if I had a leaky pipe, and everytime I called the plumber out to fix it, it started leaking a few weeks later, and all he could offer me when I confronted him about that was "Well, the kind of pipe you're using isn't quite as good" or didn't bother to tell me anything at all, the next time that pipe leaks, do you think I'll call him back or go find someone more qualified who cares about fixing my problem, rather than perpetuating it so he can make easy recurring income off me? Rather than let that happen to you, why don't you be the guy who takes care of his customers like they expect to be taken care of?
PCDoc
April 27, 2011 at 6:04am
No no.....he asked if anyone had any trouble with AVG. I do not. I'm glad they bring me business (in jest)
I don't enjoy having to clean the same PCs over and over again, for the same reasons. Some people, you cannot reach.
I do sell (and make that evil profit) Norton. I use it, I like it, I don't have any problems and the clients that listen to my advice on safe surfing and use a good 1/2 knock out punch on AV and Malware, I see once a year for a cleaning and updates.
I don't know who your client are but mine are mostly home users. Many of them have children. Many ARE children. Those who would download stolen music/movies/software from a P2P Network, are not, in most cases, going to purchase an AV Suite. (In my experience) I see them all of the time. AVG just does not seem to be able to grab and stop, or even be able to identify all of the garbage they are purposefully shoving into their PCs. Granted, you can have the best security system in the world on your house, but if a serial killer knocks at the door and you invite him in for tea, security system be damned. Norton, especially the last update, jumps all almost anything you throw at it. I've tried with both suites, loading new and older viruses from infected .zip, .rar and bin/cue files downloaded from P2P sites that I have saved from clients machines ( I love the cracks and keygens for this as well) and I feed them to my test bed. AVG doesn't blink a lot of times. Norton alerts me and makes sure I'm safe. There are others out there who do a fine job as well, I'm just loyal.
I do take quite a bit of time to explain safe habits to my customers. I AM the guy who came to town 8 years ago and shut down most of the other shops who were not treating their customers fairly, or well. I'd rather make sure they are safe, than make a profit and that reputation has spread fast, with little or no paid advertising.
Asterixx
April 26, 2011 at 2:31pm
I think the AVG Antivirus in that list has about as much to do with the real AVG as the ones with Windows in their names have with Microsoft. The malware creators are exploiting brand names, knowing that people will think the popups are legit...
Baer
April 26, 2011 at 1:23pm
No matter which anti-malware suite you use if you click on the free scans, the free smilies, the various garbage toolbars etc, if you tell it to install you will get infected.
Blues22475
April 26, 2011 at 12:21pm
Ironically enough, I've gotten several computes that are virus infected. Half of those computers had McAfee on them. So yeah, it's nice McAfee is showing us the common stuff, but what exactly is their program doing to protect against it?
dothedrew
April 27, 2011 at 5:32pm
They may have McAfee on them, but usually its the free 30 day-month trial depending on manufacturer that the computer came with. The definition file is years out of date and even if it is on can't detect most of the new malware out there anyway. An updated AVG/Avira/Avast is much better then any paid AV program that is out of date.
Connect with MaximumPC
Featured Content
The gang discusses the GTX 690, Trinity, Ivy Bridge, Amazon, big-box stores, MMOs,...
This month's issue
Feature
Build a PC On Any Budget
Feature
Cloud Services Showdown
How-To
Encrypt Your External Drive
Build It
Upgrade an X58 Rig
Most Commented Articles
Latest Max PC Tweets
- maximumpc: Original RickRoll Video Returns to YouTube After 24-Hour Copyright Hiatus http://t.co/MaH9Sxyy1 day 19 hours ago
- maximumpc: Corsair has decided not to go forward with its $78 million IPO, citing weak equity market conditions http://t.co/A5a4DAzj1 day 19 hours ago
- maximumpc: Want to work at Maximum PC? Our Online Managing Editor, Alex, is moving away, so we need a new one. http://t.co/9Z7JCh0E3 days 17 hours ago
