Rogue antivirus apps now masquerading as utility software, too

Once upon a time, rogue antivirus apps were pretty much one-trick ponies. They tried to closely mimic the interfaces we recognize from apps like AVG and Microsoft Security Essentials and use goofily-combined names like Super Windows Antivirus 2010 Gold Pro. However, as Sunbelt reports on their official blog, malware authors are now branching out into other types of bogus apps in order to lure more users into their trap.

To the trained eye, everything about PCoptimizer 2010 looks suspicious -- from the Intel Inside decal to the "Register Errors" text. The unwary Windows user, however, could be tricked just as easily by this trainwreck of a rogue app as her or she could be by a convincing antivirus clone.

Your best defense, of course, is to arm yourself with knowledge and look before you leap. Real, quality utility programs tend not to use flashy pop-up advertisements, make sensational sounding claims about fixing thousands of errors in your registry, and they usually use the correct terms. Register errors? I think you mean registry errors, Captain Scammy.

If you really need a few apps to keep your Windows system running in tip-top shape, check out this collection of six handy tools and our more recent rundown of 15+ trustworthy programs.

Tags: alert, antivirus, malicious, malware, rogue, scam, security, spyware, warning