PC Users Beware - Smart Security Fake Antivirus Siphons Money, Locks System

PRLog (Press Release) - Feb. 1, 2013 - Users familiar with the rogue program Security Tool may remember how it fooled online users into purchasing a fake product while installing malware of its own. Smart Security is a spiritual successor to Security Tool and is not to be trusted. The purpose of this program is to entice users to purchase a product based on faulty feedback and send the profit directly to the creators of the program.

While browsing a site, users may get an unwanted pop-up that can bypass pop-up blockers. This pop up will disguise itself as a very legitimate-looking anti-spyware system and pretend to do a quick scan of the computer files. It will then show that the user’s computer is infected with numerous viruses.  However, Smart Security goes beyond the average mock image of a normal virus and can easily infect the computers of even experienced web surfers.

Anyone familiar with any automatic virus-filtering interface such as Norton will also be familiar with the notifications one receives when it is turned off or its settings are too low to provide adequate protection. Smart Security mimics this procedure; however it is not a legitimate security program. Alternatively, Smart Security may automatically install seemingly harmless files (such as .PDF documents used in Adobe Reader) while running in the background. These files will contain a virus. Any unwarranted downloads to the user’s computer should be deleted immediately.

Detecting Smart Security is not difficult, although removal can be. Sometimes the program will appear as an advertisement; other times, it will automatically install itself onto a computer via fake flash updates or through other programs. For this reason, it is important to be wary of when your computer is set to update itself and deny any updates that seem suspicious. Run scans after visiting sites you are not familiar with, both quick and full, as Smart Security was recently updated. Simply clicking on any advertisement generated by Smart Security could result in background installation of the virus.

Smart Security can disable legitimate antiviruses currently installed on your computer and deny simple processes such as opening Windows Explorer, generating an error message that advises the user that the request was denied due to a virus. Users are not recommended to attempt removal of Smart Security on their own due to its ability to latch onto important computer files. As of January 2013, Smart Security was updated by its creators to be harder to detect by average PC users.

Again, any pop-ups that bypass an ad/pop-up blocker, any alert from an antivirus not previously installed on your computer or any mysterious downloads should immediately be deleted upon discovery and the computer scanned and checked by trusted antimalware resources such as recommended in a new OnlineSafety.com Smart Security removal post at http://www.onlinesafety411.com/removesmartsecurity-rogue-.... Web surfers are advised to take every precaution to protect their system.

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