Google Finds Fake Antivirus Programs on the Rise

Article appeared on pcworld.com

Fake antivirus software is becoming more prevalent on the Internet, with its creators using clever methods to fool users into installing the programs, according to a new report from Google.

Google conducted a 13-month study looking at some 240 million Web pages. The company determined that 11,000 of those domains were involved in distributing fake antivirus programs, and that those kinds of program comprise 15 percent of the malicious software on the Web.

Google Finds Fake Antivirus Programs on the Rise

McAfee antivirus program goes berserk, freezes computers

Computers in companies, hospitals and schools around the world got stuck repeatedly rebooting themselves Wednesday after an antivirus program identified a normal Windows file as a virus.

McAfee Inc. confirmed that a software update it posted at 9 a.m. Eastern time caused its antivirus program for corporate customers to misidentify a harmless file. It has posted a replacement update for download.

McAfee antivirus program goes berserk, freezes computers