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Security
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Written by Daniel
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Friday, 12 December 2008 12:08 |
Companies falsely claimed to find malware, vulnerabilities on users' PCs via "free security scans"
Dec 11, 2008 | 04:48 PM
By Tim Wilson
DarkReading
A U.S. district court has issued a temporary halt to a massive "scareware" scheme in which makers of bogus security software and services falsely claimed that their scans had detected viruses, spyware, and illegal pornography on consumers' computers.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, the scheme has tricked more than 1 million consumers into buying computer security products with names such as WinFixer, WinAntivirus, DriveCleaner, ErrorSafe, and XP Antivirus. The court also froze the assets of those responsible for the scheme to preserve the possibility of giving back some money to the scam's victims. [Comments...]
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