What is Scareware:
You’ve probably seen the pop-ups — “Warning! A virus has been detected on your computer. Download VirusBlaster to clean and remove it.” The malware that infects your computer is the program that pop-up is trying to trick you into downloading. Scareware can come in a variety of forms, from fake antivirus programs to fake browsers or software updates.
What makes protection a challenge:
We know that social engineering works because it preys on the distracted and mentally fatigued. Combine that with eagerness to please or help and thus begins the “good intentions” downward spiral that leads employees to make terrible decisions. Once scareware gets inside the system, it has all the privileges, passwords, and logins of the employee who installed it. Getting it out may be as easy as just wiping the system and starting fresh or recovering from backup. Or it may be more difficult and timeconsuming if the malware spreads to other systems.
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Learn about other security threats you might be up against: