Brian S. Pauls
Overland Park, KS
Your computers may be infected, and you may not even know it.Your antivirus program may have completely missed this threat--and if you are infected, you may not even realize that your antivirus protection is no longer running.
Generally, major antivirus providers, such as Norton, McAfee, and Trend Micro, do a very good job of keeping up with the latest threats, and neutralizing them with continual updates.
Every now, and then, however, something falls through the cracks.
That can happen when a particular malware program is frequently modified by the anti-social tech-heads who create and perpetuate this sort of on-line vandalism. Because antivirus software works by identifying the digital "signatures" of various threats, sufficient changes to a malware program can cause it to "slip through the net."
Such appears to be the case with the malware program known as "System Security." This critter--also known as "SystemSecurity" and "System Security 2008," masquerades as nothing other than and anti-virus program. That's right--
the virus itself pretends to be a program designed to protect your computer against viruses! You can know you are infected with System Security when an antivirus program
you did not install suddenly appears on your desktop, and starts running without your permission. In many versions of the virus, a window will pop-up, advertising itself as an antivirus program named "System Security," and telling you that your computer is infected with a number of threats. In reality, the program you are looking at is the threat.
System Security then tells you that, in order to remove these threats, you need to purchase a license for the program. It will very helpfully take you to a Webpage where you can enter your credit card number.
Never enter your credit card number into a Webpage unless you went to that page on purpose. If you give your credit card number to System Security, you will not get the licensed version of a non-existant antivirus program, but you may very well find yourself a victim of identity theft.
Even if you refuse to give it your credit card number, System Security is particularly troublesome. Since it poses as an antivirus program, most people think it is legitimate, and don't seek assistance in removing it--and the longer it stays on your system, the more files it will infect.
Sooner or later, System Security will shut down (or otherwise interfere with) any real antivirus software you may be running, turn off your automatic updates from Microsoft, and prevent you from installing new tools to eliminate it. This invader is very difficult to kill.
If you notice the following symptoms, you may be infected with System Security:
-Computer is exceptionally slow
-Cannot open Web browser to go online
-Legitimate antivirus software no longer running normally (check to see if you can start a scan)
-Frequent pop-ups from a program you don't recognize, telling you that your computer is being scanned, and that multiple threats have been detected
Antivirus programs from Norton, Trend Micro, McAfee and AVG all can miss a System Security infection--and there is no single way to eradicate the various versions of this threat. The program seems to change frequently, so that every removal can be unique.
We have noticed an increasing number of infections with System Security, averaging about two per week since May.
If you have noticed any combination of the symptoms listed above, please contact your computer support specialist, or give us a call. This is one problem you want to fix before it grows beyond your control.
