CyberDefender is a new example of “anti-spyware” scam

Criminals are making money without holding up banks these days. They run Internet scams that pretend to keep your computer safe from the threat of virus.

There are several respected names in virus protection like Avast (free), Norton, MacAfee, and Kaspersky. If you are worried about spyware one of the best and still free programs is Adaware.

There are some other good products but the recommendations for them are mostly bogus. Why bother since the great companies are well established and won’t rip you off.

Here are some of the ways they try to get your money.

Popup fear and false positives

You are visiting a web site, perhaps looking for words and chords for a song like myself (ahem), and a window opens warning you that your computer is infected with a virus. Click here to get your computer virus scanned for free.

This is called a “false positive”. The program is telling you that good files, perhaps from Microsoft, contain a virus. It’s a lie.

First, why are you running a computer without a virus checker? If that’s true, go back to the list and install Avast for free. If the virus checker is working, the message is a scam. As soon as you click the OK or Download button, malware will be installed on your computer.

Closing the window will prove to be difficult. Sometimes you might have to close the whole session, closing Internet Explorer, Firefox or other browser. Once I had to re-boot the computer to stop the download. Don’t ask what site I was on because I’m not telling.

If you like trouble and proceed, your credit card information will be requested. Even worse, a trojan will sit on your computer waiting for you to type login, password and credit card information.

Virus and malware reviews

In this variation on the virus threat scam, you are reading a story. It mentions a new virus and says it may not be covered in your program. I was reading Another Computer Virus On The Loose (I am not going to link the site since it gives them a link to our site). It said there was a FedEx/UPS email scam on the go.

If you check your virus software that exact name will probably not be on the list.

The article recommends another product that will fix it. In the article they recommended CyberDefender which is anti-spyware not anti-virus software.

Clicking through to CyberDefender’s page, they tout recommendations from several reputable computer sites and magazines. However, none of the graphics contain links to article you can check. That’s the first clue they are lying.

They claim a CNET, trusted source, review and a high rating. I Googled “CNET CyberDefender” but the product is not reviewed by CNET which is another deception.

It is available for download but so are thousands of programs. CNET doesn’t verify free downloads. However, the CNET community is full of surprising comments about CyberDefender.

According to posts, CyberDefender is a scam directed at seniors and young people. They offer it free but starting pumping users for extra fees. The software is buggy and doesn’t work well. Comments claim the ratings are phony and may be generated by multiple posts from a computer program or insider of the company. The software generates false positives. If you remove an essential operating system file, as they often suggest, your computer may not work well afterward.

Scamware and swindlers”

by basic-rey on December 12, 2009

Pros: These are are very good at pumping up their software rating. Check out Better Business Bureau and CNET reviews. Half the reviews are highest rated and half are poorest. Their fabricated reviews are getting less formulated check out March 2009, Wow

Cons: When they are not on the phone scamming money from you for bugs their software created they are online pumping up their software ratings.
Summary: First their advertising says you have a multiple infections so you download their free scanner. It scans with many false positives but it doesn’t fix them. If you don’t pay the $80, messages keep popping up trying to get you to buy it. If you buy it, it looks like it cleans out the infections but a couple of days later serious issues occur which force you to phone in for support. Now comes the hard sell. To solve the problem you need to buy their suite $250. This price seems to change depending on you computer knowledge. They will also get you for phone support $50/hr.

They target newbies and elderly on gaming websites. Their website looks very professional to lure in their victims.

Stick to the well known names and stay away from the scams.