"Antivirus Live" has gone viral (in a bad way)
Monday, December 21, 2009 at 3:20PM Over the past week there seems to have been an outbreak in a fake (rogue) antivirus product called Antivirus Live. Fake AVs are nothing new. They hijack the user's computer until the user pays for the full version. They are sometimes referred to as ransomware or extortionware. Never purchase one of of these programs. The people that create these programs are criminals and you don't want them to have your credit card information.
Antivirus Live is particularly nasty because it renders the infected computer almost useless. It will produce a fake scan that shows dozens of fake infections. This will be followed by numerous pop-ups telling the user to buy the program. Internet traffic is redirected to the attacker's site. Legitimate security software such as antivirus and malware scanners will not run and new programs can not be installed.
The best way to deal with one of these programs is to run an anti-virus scan from a live CD. Avira offers a free one called Avira Rescue System. If you're in the San Diego area, call Gaslamp Computers at 619.793.5545 to remove Antivirus Live and learn how to prevent similar infections.
Never pay for scams like this.