back to article Microsoft warns over rogue Security Essentials

Microsoft has warned Windows users to be on their guard against a piece of rogue antivirus software passing itself off as Microsoft Security Essentials. Security essentials 2010 is a piece of software Microsoft said installs a fake virus scanner on your machine and]monitors and blocks processes it doesn't like. The software …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Bundle it

    Maybe it's about time they started including the real security essentials with Windows.

    1. Geoff Mackenzie
      Joke

      Re: Bundle it

      Unacceptable. I demand a ballot screen.

    2. eclairz

      Re: Bundle it

      If they included it then the EU would force them into another ballot box for internet security or charge them for something else.

    3. Stu 3

      Don't be silly...

      ...we can't have Microsoft bundling free software with their OS. It's just so unfair to all those companies who want to charge for it.

      Security Essentials is excellent - I was so glad to find out about it after installing Win7. Probably due to all the law suits MS gets it was actually kinda tricky to find on their website - all the other AV companies were listed first. The best part of SE is it's free.

    4. Tony Humphreys
      Go

      They should

      They should bundle it, but I bet I know why they don't - anti trust action and the EU. The old "you're abusing your monopoly (how, people could by a mac)."

      Anyway, i prefer MSSE to AVG as it does not screw up Vista, or beg for money at every opportunity.

      Microsoft are damned if they do, and damned if they don't.

    5. Andy Jones

      or maybe ...

      Maybe they should just fix MS Windows instead?

    6. NightFox

      No-win

      When they're not even allowed to bundle their own web browser do you really think they'd get away with that? Damned if they do, damned if they don't.

    7. Alex 0.1
      Stop

      what?

      So that all of the commercial antivirus companies can whinge and moan at microsoft for "anti competitiveness " and "monopoly abuse" and "restricting choice" ad infinitum along exactly the same lines as the browser choice battle microsoft have just lost?

      Working antivirus software out of the box would be great and a real serious benefit to a large amount of users, but the commercial antivirus producers know that it'd marginally hurt their bottom line, so will happily see large amounts of users who don't know any better going av-softwareless just so that they can keep the business of a very small minority that would go for a paid offering instead of microsofts if ms's wasnt preinstalled. And they'd do it all in the name of "choice for users".

    8. Lemons
      Grenade

      title

      then how long would it take for some half ass av software company to start whinging about microsoft using their position in the market place as a monopoly... again.

    9. Anonymous Coward
      WTF?

      Bundling is a good suggestion

      For the life of me, I do not see why your post is being down voted. (Of course so will this one now.)

    10. leexgx
      Terminator

      1

      they get sued for been anti competitive (they just get away with having IE)

    11. Graf

      untitled

      If they started to bundle it, how long before someone starts moaning and MS are forced to have a "choose your security program" option box like what they have been forced to do with the browsers.

    12. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Cunning plan...

      they should also make it easy for people to start browsing the web when they first turn on a new PC by bundling a browser

    13. Andy 17
      Stop

      Yes good idea..

      "Maybe it's about time they started including the real security essentials with Windows"

      ..because we all know how much microsoft like being dragged through the european courts!

      1. Andy ORourke
        Happy

        IT IS BUNDLED, sort of

        Whe you install Windows 7 the Security centre tells you you need to find an antivirus program (obviously, it isn't installed at first) and then there is a nice link to a nice page with lots of free / pay for ant-virus / internet security downloads including Security Essentials

        Worked for me anyway

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    had this pop up on me

    But the rather obvious spelling error rather gave the game away that it was a fake.

    So long as the people who create these things keep skipping English classes, we'll keep noticing them

  3. Jelliphiish
    Alert

    my dad's pc

    had this on xp.

    format, instal win7.

    fixed.

    until he clicks on something else..

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Down

    My dad had similar software on his PC...

    He downloaded it and installed it, thinking it was a good thing. It just made his PC slower, plugged-up his Internet connection, and generally made a continuing nuisance of itself. After a while, it started hitting him up for $60 a year. He called the telephone number, and somehow managed to talk them down to $50.

    I think the program in question is called McAfee.

  5. Mark Allen
    Stop

    Easy to kill

    This is a simple virus. Easy to kill. Doesn't work in Safe Mode. So just boot into there. Fire up msconfig.exe and you'll see the obvious filenames in the startup list. Then go look into your %appdata%\Local\ folder and you'll see a couple of randomly named folders with randomly named files in. Delete them.

    NOD32 will also kill it off. (If you can get the update - or scan it as an extracted hard disk)

    NOTE: Also go and check your Proxy Server settings as this is how it is stopping the updates of the AV programs.

  6. Pascal Monett Silver badge

    Nothing to fear

    I already don't trust Microsoft for its "security" essentials, so I certainly won't be downloading any kind of copy from an unknown source. Or even from a known source.

    I have my computer security essentials since years ago :

    - a hardware firewall, admin password changed and properly configured

    - IE relegated to the status of secondary browser for specific needs. Most browsing done with Firefox configured with NoScript and AdBlock

    - MSN banned from the house

    - regular scans made with online scanning tools from official sites

    Guess what ? I have no issues with my PC.

    And Microsoft is certainly not going to change that, with or without its Essentials.

  7. JC 2
    Alien

    @ Bundle it

    Maybe it's about time they nuked it (windows) from orbit... that's the only way to be sure.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    They are not alone

    it is odd when it happens there is a mixture of amusement, and outrage, quickly followed by who cares, though I do keep a shit and karma list.

  9. Mark Allen

    Old News

    This type of attack has been going on for the past few years. Messages popping up trying to look like popular Anti-Virus products, or XP\Vista's own built in security warnings. It is all about trying to fool the unwary into clicking on the "give us 50 quid" links to get rid of the scary sounding list of infections.

    @Bundle It - that would be daft. Then the virus writers would only need to target ONE form of defence which makes it an easier job for them to develop and test viruses. While we still have a competing market of products, then it is harder for a virus to really get hold.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Gates Horns

    Damn fine idea.

    Problem is that they'd get hammered by the competition laws brought in to protect all the smaller vendors. Mind you anything that keeps the parasite software that is Norton 360 off end user's PCs has to be a good thing.

  11. Rob Moir

    Antitrust

    Perhaps you've heard of Microsoft's problems with it.

    Anyway, sure there's lots you can do to improve computer security, and God knows Microsoft have needed to improve in that area, but sooner or later if users just point blank insist on downloading malware then you're either going to have to create a "walled garden" and hope they like that or just accept that there's only so much you can do to save people from their own idiocy.

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Grenade

    @AC

    That was the original plan but when the EU & US competition commissions were asked for opinions by MS they "strongly suggested" they did not pursue bundling.

    Basically IT competition rules state that if you're organisation is named Microsoft you are not allowed to distribute more then a core OS even if it increases users security, if your name happens to be Apple or indeed any other house you can do anything you please even if Microsoft have paid out billions for the same "crime".

  13. Bilgepipe
    Gates Horns

    Genuine

    Are we sure it's not the genuine one with a bug in it? Methinks the man doth protest too much...

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