Fake Antivirus Targets Firefox

A new scam targets Firefox users by downloading fake antivirus software using an application, convincingly looking like a version of the Windows Update page. The new attack has been discovered by Sophos and it triggers only when Windows users of Firefox pushed to it through a page redirect.

The page itself is a copy of Windows Update page, providing "urgent" 2.8MB download which starts a useless security scan plugging fake antivirus software. Later, users who downloaded the update without being sure that it is genuine will be more easily convinced that a PC has been infected with the non-existent malware, detected by the program.

"Users need to be more vigilant than ever before as bogus security alerts pop-up in their browsers," said Graham Cluley of Sophos. "Fake anti-virus attacks are big business for cybercriminals and they are investing time and effort into making them as convincing as possible."

"Malicious hackers are using smart social engineering tricks more and more often, and the risk is that users will be scared by a phoney warning into handing over money to fix problems that never existed in the first place," he said.

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