back to article Scareware victims seldom fight back

Victims of rogue anti-virus scams rarely attempt to claw back fraudulent credit card payments for worthless software packages, according to new research. Security blogger Brian Krebs contacted victims of scareware scams after coming into possession of a list of users duped into buying rogue anti-virus packages. The data came …

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  1. David McMahon
    Alert

    rkill.exe

    http://download.bleepingcomputer.com/grinler/rkill.exe

    http://download.bleepingcomputer.com/grinler/rkill.com

    http://download.bleepingcomputer.com/grinler/rkill.scr

    http://download.bleepingcomputer.com/grinler/rkill.pif

    then reinstall Windows! (only way I clean is with an OEM disc of Windows!...

    (I'm aware you don't need to but by doing so you can guarantee to kill that and all the other shit the user has put on they're machine

    1. mmiied

      as as asside

      anyboady know a way of cleaning the sacreware with out reformating that stopes them comming back an a few days I would apriceate it

      1. Robert Carnegie Silver badge

        There are remedies

        I meant to check whether clamav is currently included in free Knoppix, forgot... you do get it in also free System Rescue CD, but I've got nervous about that. I also don't remember if I tested it on NTFS alternate data streams, which can be enabled in Linux but usually aren't by default. You'd want to use clamav with the most up-to-date virus signature file because your malware infection is probably updated regularly too with the latest word in nastiness.

        I don't have a lot of knowledge about using the Windows CD or DVD to boot and clean up your computer, mainly because my computer didn't come with one, but it can be done. There are several free and respectable programs to protect your computer in various ways, such as Malwarebytes, most of which are not complete solutions in one. Choosing these is a matter of judgment. Your malware probably knows about all of these and will try to disable them and also hide from them. Also, this is where we started, there is malware around that poses as protection software products or pretends to be a similar product.

        You also can buy a subscription to a security product such as F-Secure, covering several computers in one home at a reasonable price, but even this may be less effective when your computer is already messed up.

        If your computer is wrecked, then backing up your data and then re-installing Windows from the original CD may be your best move - or even buying a new computer if it's time to do that.

        If you jdon't have a Windows CD, don't buy a cheap bootleg - they are produced by the malware publishers. What I prefer to do anyway is to partition a Windows PC hard disk to have a relatively small system volume containing Windows and applications, that I can conveniently back up and then restore if necessary to repair my computer. Of course you start by making a backup BEFORE any partitioning.

  2. Winkypop Silver badge
    FAIL

    Let me get this straight...

    The people got scammed, lost money, etc.

    They then were contacted by a stranger and gave that person info about their problem...?

    Seems like the crims hit the mark...

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Troll

    soooo...

    50 bucks, computer gets faster when you remove it, limited tech support, can't get card companies to do a chargeback, can sometimes reverse charges after contacting info in email? How do you even tell they're not normal legitimate av companies anymore?

    1. Lou Gosselin

      @David W.

      For people who don't have a clue, it's probably cheaper to pay the $50 than to go in for a repair, assuming they actually remove the malware.

      Not that I'd want to be the one to support these guys.

  4. Tigra 07

    1 MILLIONTH VISITOR! CLICK HERE!

    You still have to be pretty stupid to buy these products.

    My sister constantly infected her computer by clicking those flashing banners you always see.

    You know the ones, "you are our 1 MILLIONTH VISITOR! CLICK HERE!"

    She always fell for it!

    And yes my sister is a bit dim when it comes to computers

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Best way to learn!

    Cost effective and effective lesson for the gullable if you ask me!

  6. Adam White

    Some of them are pretty good

    I saw one that looked 99% identical to Windows Defender and showed a list of real local files it claimed were infected with real viruses. The only thing that tipped me off was that it seemed unlikey this machine would have those particular viruses on it. Anyone who doesn't have at least an amatuer interest in malware would've fallen for it in a second.

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