Well, I just got a call from a client who got infected with one of the "fake antivirus" infections.  They were just surfing the web at the office and suddenly all kinds of windows starting popping up telling them that they were infected and needed to purchase a particular software package online in order to clean it up.  So, they followed the link, gave their credit card information and got...nothing in return.  It didn't clean up the "infection", it didn't stop the popup windows, it didn't do anything.  And, to add insult to injury, the next time they rebooted their computer they got the famous Blue Screen Of Death and Windows would not start.

As a reminder, REAL antivirus programs do not throw up warnings that you're infected and then force you to go to their web site to buy their software.  Think about it.  If you didn't have their software in the first place, then how could it be warning you that you're infected?  One of the biggest clues that this was a bogus warning is all of the flashing warnings and windows popping up, which causes a sense of panic in the computer user and convinces them that they must immediately purchase the recommended software.  If you ever get infected with something like this, calmly turn your computer off and call somebody who is knowledgeable in these things, whether it is a friend, a colleague or a professional computer support team like PJ Networks.

This is one of the oldest scams in the book.  Now, the client will need to call their credit card company to get a chargeback (refund) initiated, and they will need to keep a very close eye on their credit card statements for the next few months to make sure that their CC number has not been passed along to anyone else.

Please remember to keep your antivirus up to date, and if you can't afford a retail antivirus solution, there are always free programs like AVG Free or Microsoft Security Essentials that you can download from the Internet.

Let's be careful out there! 

     -PJ