Trojan.FakeAV.LVT hits Facebook® users

Uninstalls genuine antivirus software to replace with fake ones

You might be aware of malware and Trojans corrupting installed applications or more so stealing confidential information and robbing computer users on their riches. Yet there is Trojan which beats every other element of its kind with its malicious antiques.

Facebook users are hit by hackers once again. This time though with much style and innovation. The online threat, which is actually a Trojan, dubbed Trojan.FakeAV.LVT, is creating menace by uninstalling the genuine antivirus application from users’ computer and replacing it with a rogue antivirus application.

BitDefender, a global provider of innovative Internet security solutions, first discovered this new threat online and alerted users across the globe. According to a source at BitDefender, this online threat is very cunning and is equipped with sophisticated social engineering techniques. What it signifies is that this online threat can replicate any genuine antivirus software available in the market today. Further, the replicated antivirus can be localized. It will then display details in the language that the genuine antivirus is set to.

How Trojan.FakeAV.LVT targets users

Trojan.FakeAV.LVT tricks users by convincing them that a video about them has been posted on YouTube by their friends. Unknown about the threat that they may land up into, when the users click the video to watch, they are prompted to update the Flash Player to its latest version and restart the system. Once users do that, they are simply trapped. Trojan.FakeAV.LVT then stealthily uninstalls the genuine antivirus application from the system and installs a replica of the same. It is off-course apparent that the replica doesn’t have any antivirus characteristics.

The replica is pretty much similar to the genuine one look-wise. So, users don’t get a chance to feel what actually is going on in the system.

What is the way out?

Of course, re-installing a genuine antivirus can help you to get rid of this online threat. Apart from that, it is recommended to follow the following advices to prevent your computer from getting infected by Trojan.FakeAV.LVT.

• Always download Flash-related updates from its official website, i.e Adobe. Never follow a redirected link. It can be malicious.
• If you are not sure if the video is genuine or not, you can always check it out in YouTube by searching for its existence.

It now totally depends on users how they protect their system from Trojan.FakeAV.LVT. It is very simple. All you need to do is to follow the guidelines mentioned above.