Antivirus 2009 - Another Rogue Taking You For A Sucker

By: Wayne Davis
Submitted: 2009-05-27 13:00:22
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Making sure you don’t have viruses or spyware on your computer is essential to the health of your machine. Lots of programs have convincing names that make them sound like they were created to help you in that task, but some of them aren’t as good as they sound. If Antivirus 2009 is part of your program lineup, getting rid of it is probably your best bet.

Antivirus 2009 – A Crash Course

Antivirus 2009 is classified under the rogue antivirus software heading. There are a number of different programs that seem to be clones of this one including System Antivirus 2008, Antivirus 2008, Ultimate Antivirus 2009, XP Antivirus 2008, and Vista Antivirus 2008. There are also a number of other programs with similar names that have the same properties as this particular program. Most security experts indicate Antivirus 2009 is spread thanks to the Zlob or Vundo Trojans, and it most often masquerades itself as a video codec. If you’ve ever had a site pop up and tell you that you needed an add-on to view a particular page or part of a site, you may have been missing a video codec, and while not all codecs are problematic, those Trojans that mask themselves as codecs can expose you to programs like Antivirus 2009. On the other hand, however, you may have been exposed to this program when you chose to download it and install it with the thought that it would help you keep your system safe.

Spotting Antivirus 2009

If you’re not sure whether or not you have Antivirus 2009 on your computer, there are several indicators that you can watch out for. For most, the primary indicator that this program has made your computer its new home is the scans. At any point in time after you’ve turned your computer on, you may see a scan window pop up. This particular scan window looks just like any other authentic Windows program. In fact, in the top corner of this program, you may even see the Windows colors displayed in a shield with the name Antivirus 2009. You’ll see very secure looking features like a registration button and a help button on the top as well. On the left side of the window, you will see a number of other buttons. System Scan, Security, Privacy, Update and Settings are boldly displayed, and at the bottom, there is an additional button that you can click. It advertises real-time protection against programs that are a threat. Clicking on any of these buttons or anywhere within the actual scan window leads you back to the home page for Antivirus 2009, and once you’re there, you’ll be prompted to buy the full version of the program to protect your computer.

The bulk of this application window, though, plays host to the actual scan of your computer. You’ll see a progress bar and a list of files it finds as it scans. As with many rogue security applications, though, it primarily finds two kinds of files during the scan process. The first type of file it may find are those that are actually installed on your computer. These files are not a threat, and they are essential to the integrity of your system. Removing them will damage your computer, so it important to note that you shouldn’t take any action based on what you see in the a scan window. The other type of file you may see in the scan window are those with concerning file names. You may have heard some of these names on the news or in security forums. Keep in mind that Antivirus 2009 is designed to find the same files on every computer. Typically you don’t actually have these problem programs installed. The application simply says that you do to help it seem imperative that you purchase the full version.

The scans of your computer aren’t the only indicator that you may have Antivirus 2009 installed on your machine, though. You may also see a number of different kinds of advertisements for the program. Two of the most common are the Windows Notification Bubbles and the typical pop-up ad you’re used to seeing while you surf online. In all cases, they’ll say something like “Privacy Violation Alert” or “Internal Conflict Alert.” You may also see headings like “Security Alert” or “Virus Warning.” Almost all of these ads suggest that you click on them to activate your protection right away. Clicking, of course, takes you to the home page for the program, and there you’ll be asked to activate the program with your credit card number.

Scans and advertisements are important indicators, but it may also take over your browser as well. For example, instead of the typical Google homepage, you might see one with a notification under it that says something like “Google Tips: Google has detected an unregistered copy of Antivirus 2009 on your system.” There is usually a suggestion that you buy the whole version of the program so you can prevent problem programs from entering your system while you’re online.

If you do see any of these indicators, you may want to find a good antispyware solution to help you automatically remove Antivirus 2009 from your computer.

Article source: Expert Articles