Vista Antivirus:  a Fraud by Any Other Name 

There is a class of virus out there that is collectively known as fraudware.  There is a certain subset of these viruses that can be collectively called “Windows Antivirus.”  There are several different names they go by, the latest of which is the Vista Antivirus.

As a family of viruses, these are the most deceptive.  After realizing the “shortcomings” of such virus programs as SpySheriff, the programmers who develop fraudware decided to try a new angle.  The original idea was brilliant despite its intent.  Make people think they’re infected, point them to your product, and make them spend money for your so-called “protection.”  Someone along the way realized that this idea could be taken further, so that more people could be tricked into this scam.  The scheme was simple:  Keep the general pathology of SpySheriff and its kin, since it worked so well, but cloak it in Windows imagery.  So was born the Windows Antivirus class.

Of course, there were further innovations to the design.  The original virus was as easy to remove as its predecessors.  Refinements were made that eventually led the Windows Security Center itself to be tricked into believing it was a legitimate antivirus program.  Also, it was soon able to avoid detection by real antivirus programs.  Finally, innovations have been made in how the virus imbeds itself into a computer system.

Naturally, in trying to keep ahead of the manufacturers of legitimate antivirus programs, the virus programmers are constantly upgrading their viruses.  Not just settling for avoiding detection and imbedding upgrades, they try to stay ahead of the informed user by renaming their “products.”

So, how best to keep ahead of these people?  For one thing, a great idea is to have an antivirus program that is as relentless in its upgrades as the viruses themselves.  Quite often, the problem with antivirus programs is that they don’t upgrade their virus definition vaults fast enough.  This leaves a window of exposure where any computer hooked to the net is a potential sitting duck.  Another great idea is for a program with this rapid upgrade speed to be able to tell the user if a webpage is unsafe, which is becoming a more frequent occurrence.

The last element for protection is knowledge.  The most common way for viruses to bypass antivirus protection is if the user downloads them.  They could do this by clicking on a hypertext link in an e-mail, on a webpage, or download an attachment from an e-mail.  This is never recommended, and sadly, even from people one trusts.  E-mail addresses can get hacked, Myspace accounts can get hijacked, and the list goes on.  Ultimately, the only safe bet is that if you asked someone for a link, you should copy and paste it in the address box before browsing it.  Never click on something unsolicited.

Armed with an effective antivirus and this kind of internet savvy, the internet can still be a fun, safe and enjoyable experience.  Just keep in mind that even though it’s only a virtual world in cyberspace, the personal threats are no less real.