If leading security vendor Symantec is to be believed, then diligent PC owners actively keen to protect their computers from cyber criminals might still be vulnerable to attack despite seeking to take preventative action.

Specifically, a new report published by Symantec, creators of Norton Internet Security, suggests that tens of millions of computers in the United States are equipped with bogus security software that leaves host systems even more susceptible to the malicious intent of the criminal community.

According to Symantec, cyber-thieves infect unprotected computers with fake security pop-up warnings that alert unwitting Web surfers to completely fictional online threats, before then offering to conveniently stamp those threats out with fee-based antivirus software.

Once installed, said bogus protection can actually serve as a conduit for attackers to assume control of the computer remotely, which in turn can allow attackers to lift credit card information, perform identity theft, and also use the host computer to dispatch Spam e-mails.

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Posted at 10:46AM Oct 21, 2009 by Vic Oliver in Inform  |  Comments[0]