It's easy to believe that once you have Internet security software installed, your PC is protected and safe.
The truth is that no anti-virus, anti-spyware, anti-spam or
anti-anything-else program is 100% safe.
And, since scammers and hackers are producing new malware every day, even
today's most effective security program may become vulnerable tomorrow.
To add to the risks, the FBI has issued a warning about malware that
actually disables security software, rendering it useless and leaving PCs wide
open to potential attack. It's a new kind of malware, known as Beta Bot, and is mostly used to
target businesses. But it can find its way onto any Windows-based PC via
infected websites and even USB drives.
One of the clever techniques it exploits is the genuine Windows User
Account Control (UAC), which notifies users of attempts to modify the
computer's settings. A window that looks exactly like the UAC pop up and asks for permission
to run something called "Windows Command Processor," which, it says,
is published by Microsoft.
But if you click the "Yes" button to allow the program to run,
it makes alterations to the computer and disables security software. If this happens to you, you may need professional technical help to get
things back to normal -- unless you have a recent system backup you can
reinstate.
But you can avoid this scam by closing the pop-up if you haven't
initiated any actions to make changes to your PC. Then run your full Internet security program.
Also, a recent came from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) who issued a
warning about what they're calling "last dollar scams" -- the
techniques that heartless crooks use to relieve people who are already
struggling financially of what little money they have. It's cruel and you can
learn more about what the FTC is doing to tackle it in their article, Last Dollar Scams.
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Sourced from scambusters.org
