Fake Anti-Spyware? Anything is Possible.

This report Researchers Warn of Fake Anti-Spyware - Yahoo! News details a new type of cyber-attack called "ransomeware" that is being spread by none other than fake anti-spyware applications.

The attacks work like this:

In these attacks, hackers disguise the malware in programs advertised online as free anti-spyware applications. Once downloaded onto a user's computer, the applications may deliver their own payloads of malicious code or expose affected machines to subsequent attacks.

The idea is a scary one that works because of the proliferation of information about spyware. By instructing and educating people about spyware, the spyware industry has put the fear of God in the average user forcing them to think they need to download anti-spyware applications or their machine might blow up!

Hackers have now come full circle and developed applications that look like spyware killers but actually install the malicious code instead.

Technorati Tags: spyware, ransomeware, rootkits