Scareware Infecting Millions of Computers

They fool you with names like Anti-Virus 2010 and Windows Police.  They trick you with images like the actual security seal of Microsoft's Vista operating system.

Scareware pop-ups, claiming they detect a virus are looking, instead, to infect your computer.  All you need to do is click. 

Jonathan McClurkin knows all to well what happens next.

"I would try to turn it on and it would just come up like a blue screen and after that my Dad had to take care of it cause I had no idea what to do," said McClurkin.   

Seven On Your side Asked Brian Hamilton with B-Tech Computer Repair in Spartanburg how often he sees computer infected with scareware.

"Really on a daily basis and it's just getting worse," he said.   

Hamilton says there are two big dangers with scareware.  Many people are fooled into giving up their credit card information to pay for the fake software. 

The second:

"As soon as you interact with it it starts downloading its friends.  It's kind of like when your parents are out of town and you have the party and the one kid invites too many people.  That's typically the way it works. The virus brings all its friends in and it just makes things worse and worse and worse, progressively,” said Hamilton.   

Scareware has become so prevalent that in the last 6 months Microsoft says it's Malicious Software Removal Tool has cleaned nearly 8 million PCs.

Hamilton says scareware creators are so adept.  There's no full-proof way to detect a fake.  The best advice, take a minute to get to know the anti-virus software on your computer, and if you don't have one consider buying the program in a store.

Sometimes Googling the name online will lead to warnings, but for Jonathan that didn't help.

"Just make sure you do not download anything that just pops up on your computer.  Make sure you know what it is before you open it up or download it," said McClurkin.

Experts charge about $100 dollars to clear the virus off your computer.

If you decide to go it alone, one program Hamilton says you can trust is Microsoft Security Essentials.  That's a free anti-virus program for PC users. 

A couple of things to keep in mind when it comes to scareware:

- If you click on any part of the ad except the red x on the top right corner, you are at risk of being infected.

- Sometimes you won't even notice it until a week later because some viruses are on a time delay.

- Computer experts warn, if you try to clear the virus off your computer yourself, you may miss getting all of it.  And many of those programs are designed to restore themselves to their original state if you leave even a trace on your computer.