‘APcDefender’ - The New Rogueware Detection for 2010

Security company PandaLabs reported during the second week of January 2010 that new fake anti-virus software namely 'APcDefender' was currently circulating across the Internet.

Details about APcDefender reveal that the fake AV or 'rogueware' mostly poses as a Flash Player update or a codec to play video. If users try to download either of the two, malicious trojans implant the rogueware in an automatic manner on their computers. That means no consent is taken from the user for getting APcDefender installed. Whatever happens is in the absence of his knowledge.

On the other hand, some end-users may download this malware voluntarily from website.
Further details regarding APcDefender reveals that the country of origin of the rogueware's site is Bahamas. But, according to the IP address of the site, the malicious software seems to be registered in Sweden.

This reflects sheer folly on the part of hackers as their attempts to misguide the security experts turned into a failure.

In the meantime, the researchers delineate symptoms which can indicate to computer users whether the rogueware has infected their system. These are: undesirable pop ups; unexpected, automatic changes on end-users' PCs; or reports of automatic scans.

Other indications include scary notifications of system security on users' PC, or compulsion on users towards purchasing a complete edition of the rogueware in the name of security software. Typically, such security software claims that it can remove the suddenly appearing malicious programs on users' computers. So, if any of the abovementioned problems emerge on a person's PC, it would imply that the fake anti-virus software has infected his computer, the researchers added.

Hence, to get rid of APcDefender, computer users must deploy a decent application that would be able to spot as well as automatically remove the fake anti-virus from the system.

Finally, the prediction by PandaLabs that malware volume will keep on increasing during 2010 appears to be turning true, with researchers already detecting rogueware like APcDefender. Actually, during early 2010, the company projected that malicious software would be designed with increasing uniqueness, while numerous bogus anti-virus programs are expected to make their debut during the year.

Related article: “Loopholes did not cause online banking thefts”: ICBC

» SPAMfighter News - 1/26/2010