Mozilla® Firefox hit by a fake antivirus

Yet another scam has hit the users. And this time the target audience is Mozilla Firefox users. This fake antivirus software uses a replica of Windows Update page to load fake antivirus software into a user’s PC.

According to security company Sophos, this fake Microsoft Update, prompts users to download an “urgent” 2.8MB download by a Windows Update page. Once the user agrees to the update, a fake security scan will start on user’s computer leading to the installation of fake antivirus software. The technique is clever. Users who agree to the update without checking whether it is genuine or not, will also be more easily convinced that their PC has been infected with the malware. And they quickly agree to download the antivirus that is being prompted on their screens, which is later detected as a fake antivirus.

“Fake anti-virus attacks are big business for cybercriminals and they are investing time and effort into making them as convincing as possible.” said Graham Cluley of Sophos.

The hackers are using smart tricks to fish people, and this time they have imitated Microsoft Update page. Users must check the authenticity of these alerts and warnings before getting entrapped into these fake alerts.

(Source: www.pcworld.com)