Have you ever visited a site and been redirected straight to a page saying something like:

“WARNING! Your computer is infected! Our initial scans have detected a possible malware infestation on your computer. Click here for a free full scan.”

So this advertiser is claiming to have scanned my files without my permission and found malware? Alarm-bells sound straight away. Whether I click “Scan Now” or “Cancel” their alleged malware scanner begins working: Clever that, as there’s no internet communication as such during this “scan”; and the only thing that’s been loaded onto my computer is a Flash animation.

Before I can think clearly the “in-depth scan” is over and reports that I have X amount of trojans and Y amount of other malicious programs on my PC! Wow: The only way that they could have got on there is if the advertiser had just put them there. I cancel the page and run a malware scan using XoftSpySE. The scan reveals 10 low-risk spyware cookies; at least 6 of which were put there by this advert. The Ad goes on to tell me that I should pay for their software which can find malware that other programs can’t…

Years ago I once downloaded a program called “Spyware Nuker” which used advertising tactics just like this, onto a clean install of Windows 98SE on a new hard-drive which I’d formatted in FAT32 that day. This HD had never been exposed to the internet before then but Spyware Nuker found oodles of malware and claimed it had fixed all of the problems. I uninstalled Spyware Nuker and ran Ad-Aware free edition – It found a trojan and loads of spyware that Spyware Nuker had planted on my system.

My guess is that the program you’re now considering downloading will do much the same. Here’s what actually happened:-

The URL that you typed redirected your browser to the advertiser’s URL, where the ad including a small flash animation and a few spyware cookies were loaded up to your HD. The “Scan Now/Cancel” panel was overall linked to a single link, which told the flash animation to run. After it had run, feigning a scanner GUI, the window uploaded a few names of various malware components at random from a database on the server and displayed them as infections on your computer.

The intention was for you to say

“OMG I have these infections that my current antispyware missed – What a clever piece of software! I must buy it now.”

Probably when you purchase it it’ll upload all those infections to your computer along with some others, it’ll then eradicate the infections it says it found, leaving you with the others it wasn’t supposed to find: Now you have a compromised system that is at the mercy of whoever has paid the highest price for use of your new bot – And worst of all if you’re not that computer-savvy, you’ll never know anything about it unless your ISP contacts you with a complaint.

Advice: If you ever see an Ad appear telling you that your computer is infected; close the page or ignore it – Don’t even bother with it. You might try telling the webmaster of the site that you intended to visit about this; as the webmaster may be unaware that their new advertising that they’ve just signed up for is run by unethical enterprise.

Remember, on the internet; if it sounds too good to be true then it is: 999 out of 1000 times there’s no “probably” about it.  If several reputable programs find no spyware, then one that you’ve never heard of informs you that your computer is infested; it’s fairly safe to assume that you’re being conned; especially if that program is over-hasty to grab your business at all costs.

Some advertising does have a funny side though:

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Seriously now:

*Shazza recommends*

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If you happen to live in the UK and happen to use Virgin Media, BT, Sky, Carphone Warehouse, Orange, or Tiscali; then at some point you may be receiving a warning letter from your ISP saying that you’ve been making illegal downloads, and threatening to suspend or possibly terminate your internet service.

These ISPs are on a three-month trial scheme, instructed by the British government, clamping down on pirating software and music, and notifying suspected repeat offenders that their actions are under scrutiny.

It’s still a mystery exactly which people these “suspected repeat offenders” could be: No doubt the ones they’ll watch are people who use P2P: So if you use LimeWire, BearShare, or any of the other P2P software for whatever reason then watch out. You don’t really imagine that they’re actually going to monitor traffic do you? That would use huge resources and cost millions – A simple P2P signature will probably activate a printer to dispatch a letter to you automatically; guilty or not.

There are currently no plans of disconnecting those who persist. The ISPs are seeking a unified code of conduct on what to do with those who continue to do so in talks with Ofcom; the UK Telecoms Regulator. One of the proposed options is to disconnect someone after sending them 3 of these warning letters. My question is: Where’s the proof? You can’t punish someone on suspicion. Just imagine if the law behaved like that: Half of the world’s population would be in jail.

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UK business secretary John Hutton believes that this is an “intelligent approach”. The ISPs agreed to this trial following the warning from the UK government that it would impose legislation if they didn’t do something to discourage illegal filesharing. If the powers that be imagine for a second that this has any relationship whatsoever with intelligence then I think the UK Govt. should have a motion drafted against it for having none.

It is believed that six million people in the UK are involved in such activities. If they know this then why don’t they just issue six million warnings straight away? It would be so much easier and consume far less resources. Also I’m just wondering: What if you happen to be an innocent party who’s never done an illegal download in their life; and you get one of these letters – Then what? Do you phone the ISP and argue your case? I doubt they’ll even listen: You’re guilty because a computer decided that you should be sent a letter – End of story. No doubt after letter 1 you’ll be put on a “watch list”, and a computer will have no hesitation in deciding that you should receive letter No.2. Use your imagination from this point onwards.

XoftSpySE

Anti-Spyware 

§ Complete PC  scanning, including running processes, registry entries, files and folders

§ Detects and removes: adware, spyware, pop-Up generators, keyloggers, trojans, hijackers, and malware

§ One of the largest spyware definition databases in the industry

§ Automatic definition and feature updates

§ Fast, powerful, and easy to use

§ Comprehensive customer technical support

§ Protects against identity and credit card theft  

To discover more and get a FREE scan Click Here!  

Addendum 01.08.08

It appears that something positive is happening about this matter, and that once again the fascist UK goverment has introduced an unworkable proposal that won’t stand up to European Law.

For more on this subject go here.

It won’t be long before sophisticated advanced computers are scrutinising your every move online – Just you wait and see if I’m not right.

As for the Carphone Warehouse; well it’s hardly “Your phone your way” is it?

More like “our service, our rules”.