online scams and anti virus programs

[strapper1]

I recently was surfing online, no porn or anything that would be considered unethical or inappropriate and then pops up this warning, (from FBI)

that I have been accused of watching child porn and demanding that I pay them money to settle this! I knew that this was a bunch of bs, I googled it and verified that this is a scam. But, what really pisses me off is that they put a virus on my macbook ,that I had a tough time getting rid of! My question is this…. how do these anti virus companies, (which actually give you the virus) stay in business?

Everybody knows they are a scam, yet they are still out there doing what they do, and I would like to know if anything has ever been done to stop these parasites... One more thing , how do they even get a merchant, account to process credit cards, surely visa and mastercard must know that this is fraud?

[FredNL]

Never had this problem while using Norton Internet Security. Before visiting a website it scans the pages. Even pop-up are blocked and you can open them after you have been asked if you want to.... If there is any malware or virus on the page, it will be blocked.

[Gsxrnz]

I think he's referring to the urban legend that the anti-virus software companies have a division that creates the virus in the first place, thus perpetuating the perfect business continuity model.

I love urban legends. My favourite is the Master Bates and Seaman Stanes legend from Captain Pugwash.

[BB1950]

My question is this…. how do these anti virus companies, (which actually give you the virus) stay in business?

Everybody knows they are a scam, yet they are still out there doing what they do, ....

What makes you think that antivirus companies actually give you the virus? Have you seen this officially documented anywhere?

I know many Mac forums state this. I think most likely it's not true. What is more likely... it's from a website you visited.

You should install Web of Trust for your browser.

Know which websites you can trust with the Web of Trust (WOT) extension. Powered by a global community, WOT uses ratings based on the experiences of millions of users. Get reputation ratings for search results and keep your personal information safe.

https://extensions.apple.com/details/?id=com.wotservicesoy.wot-FF6WW26HL3

You're probably one of those that think Macs are immune from Viruses too!

Another Urban Legion. No operating systems are immune to viruses!

The issue of Mac malware is one that is often understood poorly. Many people will tell you there are no Mac viruses, which is a partial truth that masks the greater truth. Unfortunately, there is malware out there that can infect your precious Mac!

Macs are not immune to cyber attack, and assuming that they are, is a dangerous game to play. But what is known with certainty is that when compared to the most widely used and exploited computing platforms - Windows for desktop PCs and Android for mobile phones - the Apple Mac has all but evaded the widespread attention of criminals.

Most malware developers seek to infect and control computers for profit, pursuing platforms that are the most popular by number and least secure by design. For these reasons Mac OS X is still far from top of their to-do list.

Macs are not immune to cyber attack, and assuming that they are is a dangerous game to play. But what we do know with certainty is that when compared to the most widely used and exploited computing platforms - Windows for desktop PCs and Android for mobile phones - the Apple Mac has all but evaded the widespread attention of criminals.

Most malware developers seek to infect and control computers for profit, pursuing platforms that are the most popular by number and least secure by design. For these reasons Mac OS X is still far from top of their to-do list.

I suggest you take security a little more seriously. The world wide web is a dangerous place play to play in!

Edited November 27, 2014 by BB1950

[ATF]

More Digital Pikery. Is it ever going to end?

[dharmabm]

I'm lovin this, please keep it up![emoji11]

sent from my slimkat 1+ using tapatalk

[chrisinth]

OP, I would suggest that if you got a virus (?) on a mac, it was not by just opening the webpage that caused it but by further actions carried out by you, ie, clicking on links on the affected site/page.

Viruses/Trojans/worms/bots/malware/scareware/spam/etc are all different, needing different remedies and cures.....................

[Squeegee]

I think you are confused OP: anti-virus companies will not put a virus on your computer. You unwittingly downloaded some software proliferated by scammers, that's all. You need to get a bit more net/computer savvy and take more care clicking on and installing things. Not everything is always as it claims.

Edited November 27, 2014 by Squeegee

[phazey]

OP.

I work for an AV company (product mentioned elsewhere in this thread), and your suggestion AV firms create the viri first is really quite bonkers. I could take offence to your comments, but in this case i'll pass as you're quite literally under informed.

The popup you got was most likely an innocent site, but a ad somewhere was injected with the popup, it's called ransomware.

I could give you NDA covered information were these viri and malware originate from, but then i'd be putting my job at risk. Lets just say there's a big continent involved.

What I will say (and heck, why do it) is that we not only use our own signatures for event detection, but also two, maybe three big name AV suppliers signatures too. And we share ours back on a 15 minute cycle. This is at an infrastructure level, so there's no way malware of a virus can pass through after it's second sighting.

Now, toddle off and get some real time detection on your machinery - even free scanners like AVG etc use most signature databases to collate their dictionaries.....

[Squeegee]

Yes OP, free anti-virus software should be perfectly fine. AVG mentioned above used to be the number 1 free one but it got a bit bloaty and slow and lost ground in recent years (unless they improved things). A good free one is Avast!

Also get Anti-Malwarebytes which can catch things anti-virus programs sometimes miss (or are not designed to detect).

[yimlitnoy]

OP.

I work for an AV company (product mentioned elsewhere in this thread), and your suggestion AV firms create the viri first is really quite bonkers. I could take offence to your comments, but in this case i'll pass as you're quite literally under informed.

The popup you got was most likely an innocent site, but a ad somewhere was injected with the popup, it's called ransomware.

I could give you NDA covered information were these viri and malware originate from, but then i'd be putting my job at risk. Lets just say there's a big continent involved.

What I will say (and heck, why do it) is that we not only use our own signatures for event detection, but also two, maybe three big name AV suppliers signatures too. And we share ours back on a 15 minute cycle. This is at an infrastructure level, so there's no way malware of a virus can pass through after it's second sighting.

Now, toddle off and get some real time detection on your machinery - even free scanners like AVG etc use most signature databases to collate their dictionaries.....

I have been using Outlook for so many years with Microsoft Windows and I have no problem with unwanted emails, Outlook blocked them all automatically and Hotmail is also doing the same.

I have bought a new Apple Ipad recently and I have received so many spams since that I do not know what to do. I am not a fan of Apple but the ipad is good hardware with long battery life. I found out that there are almost no existing softwares to stop those unwanted emails for IOS. The ones I have downloaded from Apple store do not seem to work at all. Apple does not seem to care at all from this invasion of unwanted emails. Any suggestions?

[BB1950]

Yes OP, free anti-virus software should be perfectly fine. AVG mentioned above used to be the number 1 free one but it got a bit bloaty and slow and lost ground in recent years (unless they improved things). A good free one is Avast!

Also get Anti-Malwarebytes which can catch things anti-virus programs sometimes miss (or are not designed to detect).

Unfortunately, MalwareBytes products only runs on Windows - the breeding ground of malware. However, Macs don’t live in a vacuum. Mac computers are facing more and more threats nowadays. If you love your Mac, then get the best antivirus software, something like MalwareBytes.

[lostinisaan]

OP.

I work for an AV company (product mentioned elsewhere in this thread), and your suggestion AV firms create the viri first is really quite bonkers. I could take offence to your comments, but in this case i'll pass as you're quite literally under informed.

The popup you got was most likely an innocent site, but a ad somewhere was injected with the popup, it's called ransomware.

I could give you NDA covered information were these viri and malware originate from, but then i'd be putting my job at risk. Lets just say there's a big continent involved.

What I will say (and heck, why do it) is that we not only use our own signatures for event detection, but also two, maybe three big name AV suppliers signatures too. And we share ours back on a 15 minute cycle. This is at an infrastructure level, so there's no way malware of a virus can pass through after it's second sighting.

Now, toddle off and get some real time detection on your machinery - even free scanners like AVG etc use most signature databases to collate their dictionaries.....

I have been using Outlook for so many years with Microsoft Windows and I have no problem with unwanted emails, Outlook blocked them all automatically and Hotmail is also doing the same.

I have bought a new Apple Ipad recently and I have received so many spams since that I do not know what to do. I am not a fan of Apple but the ipad is good hardware with long battery life. I found out that there are almost no existing softwares to stop those unwanted emails for IOS. The ones I have downloaded from Apple store do not seem to work at all. Apple does not seem to care at all from this invasion of unwanted emails. Any suggestions?

Buy a MS based operating system and use reusable condoms.-

[dharmabm]

OP.

I work for an AV company (product mentioned elsewhere in this thread), and your suggestion AV firms create the viri first is really quite bonkers. I could take offence to your comments, but in this case i'll pass as you're quite literally under informed.

The popup you got was most likely an innocent site, but a ad somewhere was injected with the popup, it's called ransomware.

I could give you NDA covered information were these viri and malware originate from, but then i'd be putting my job at risk. Lets just say there's a big continent involved.

What I will say (and heck, why do it) is that we not only use our own signatures for event detection, but also two, maybe three big name AV suppliers signatures too. And we share ours back on a 15 minute cycle. This is at an infrastructure level, so there's no way malware of a virus can pass through after it's second sighting.

Now, toddle off and get some real time detection on your machinery - even free scanners like AVG etc use most signature databases to collate their dictionaries.....

Hahahahahaha...

Well I believe you, at least you almost spelled the plural of virus properly

sent from my slimkat 1+ using tapatalk

[phazey]

OP.

I work for an AV company (product mentioned elsewhere in this thread), and your suggestion AV firms create the viri first is really quite bonkers. I could take offence to your comments, but in this case i'll pass as you're quite literally under informed.

The popup you got was most likely an innocent site, but a ad somewhere was injected with the popup, it's called ransomware.

I could give you NDA covered information were these viri and malware originate from, but then i'd be putting my job at risk. Lets just say there's a big continent involved.

What I will say (and heck, why do it) is that we not only use our own signatures for event detection, but also two, maybe three big name AV suppliers signatures too. And we share ours back on a 15 minute cycle. This is at an infrastructure level, so there's no way malware of a virus can pass through after it's second sighting.

Now, toddle off and get some real time detection on your machinery - even free scanners like AVG etc use most signature databases to collate their dictionaries.....

Hahahahahaha...

Well I believe you, at least you almost spelled the plural of virus properly

sent from my slimkat 1+ using tapatalk

I'm happy for a mod to come in and verify the reverse lookup of where i post sometimes......even if my spelling is a little in doubt.

[SeaVisionBurma]

This mod knows the above poster well and knows where he works, and would happily verify his credentials if it were practical.

As for the crack about spelling, sheesh. I know my way around antivirus software, and I'm buggered if I can remember what the plural is.