Carl runs a site devoted to helping you rid your computer from all sorts of spyware and malware at http://www.spyzooka.com/
There is a supposed "anti-virus" program going around by the name of Antivirus XP 2008. Unfortunately, this software is not what it seems. Here is what you should know about it.
Antivirus XP 2008 is not a Windows program. Don't let the name or the user interface fool you. This software is in no way authored or authorized by Microsoft. But that's just the beginning...
Antivirus XP 2008 is not an actual anti-virus program. Like XP Defender and other programs before it, this supposed anti-spyware product would actually give you a false alarm! It will make you think you have malicious software on your computer, when actually it is the malicious software!
Antivirus XP 2008 is not even a legitimate program. It is actually a piece of malware, aka "fraudware" that serves no other purpose than to convince you to spend money!
Antivirus XP 2008 is not worth upgrading to the paid version. The paid version will often say it's giving you "20% off an already low price". Don't fall for it! All it will do is "fix" the "problems" that the unregistered version showed.
In other words, it will silence the false alarms. The only thing it's really done here is take your money and give it to someone else, and given you nothing but a very false sense of security in return. But it may not just rip you off once...
Antivirus XP 2008 may steal your money! Like XP Antivirus, Antivirus 2009, "XP Security Center", and many other fraudware programs, this fake piece of anti-spyware can open up your bank account to criminals!
Many people who have purchased the "upgraded" versions of these programs later found that the same company that billed them for the “upgrade” had billed them a second time, often at a higher cost.
But wait--it gets even worse. The billing address is in MOSCOW, and we're not talking Moscow, Idaho. Criminals from the Russian Federation often operate this software and trick you out of your hard-earned money not just once, but twice!
Antivirus XP 2008 may have opened you up to other threats. This program may have been bundled with other kinds of spyware that can steal your email login information and credit card information.
At the very least, programs like this will severely slow down your system. Eventually, they may foul-up your computer so bad that you won't even be able to start Windows!
What is the solution to this? If your computer has ever shown this or any other of the fake anti-spyware programs mentioned above, make sure you get a legitimate anti-virus or anti-spyware program working for you--pronto!
If you attend to your computer with quality software soon enough, you can keep from having your information stolen or having your computer shutdown. But it's not something you can put off forever so don't waste another day!
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