Symantec Blogs: Security ResponseSyndicate content

Ben Nahorney | October 20th, 2009
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Rogue security software scams are everywhere these days. The numbers are quite staggering—over 250 distinct programs racking up 43 million installation attempts, according to our new Report on Rogue Security Software.

Still, when it comes down to functionality and code base, it’s more akin to a few people with really large wardrobes. There might be dozens of variations of the same underlying program, each receiving minor updates and a new software skin. They even use the same fake threat names when attempting to scam you—stuff like “Spyware.Monster” or “Spyware.IEmonster”.

Ultimately what we’re looking at is variety in graphic design rather than functional design. We’ve put together a video to show just that. Our report calls these threats Antivirus200X—a “family” of rogue security...