Summary. Scareware is a kind of software that infiltrates your computer and then posts warning messages on your screen to scare you into purchasing the software.
It’s a form of misrepresentation, deception, and false advertising that is forbidden and harshly prosecuted by the Federal Trade Commission. We depend on reputable companies to keep us protected from such malware.
Unfortunately, now Symantec has joined the ranks of deceptive and manipulative hackers by using the same false advertising to manipulate customers and scare them into buying their software.
The warning screen below states, “…we’ve found threats that make you vulnerable to cybercrime.” In reality, the threats were legitimate cookies, that even their own software acknowledges are a low risk.
Commentary. Below is a commentary from computer support specialist Greg Johnson.
“A client contacted me today, and informed me that there was a message on their screen indicating they had 62 viruses and if they’d pay money, those viruses could be removed. I explained that the message was most likely a hoax and that no legitimate antivirus or security software vendor would use such tactics.
I was startled to discover that, indeed, it was Norton Security Scan by Symantec. The desperation of Symantec to lure more people into becoming paying customers is probably a reaction to Microsoft Security Essentials, the free antivirus, anti-malware, and security suite provided by Microsoft for Windows users.
At this point, I can’t recommend Symantec, because of this kind of misleading marketing, and also because I’ve had to clean up too many infected computers that had Symantec products installed at the time of their infection.” ~ Greg Johnson