Computer Virus could cost you

I saw an article on thedenverchannel.com that brought me back to a year ago when I sat frozen in front of my Dell laptop watching it disintegrate before my eyes. I had picked up a virus that kept sending pop ups to my desktop warning that I had infected my computer and for a small fee it could be fixed. Throughout the day the pop ups became more numerous until finally I couldn't see anything else or navigate through screens. I was forced to shut the laptop down and crack open my spare. Now not many folks have a spare or a husband who works in IT that can clean an infected computer. I did some research and found the most economical way, aside from using my husbands skills, would set me back at least $100 for a basic purge and clean of my laptop. Yikes, for less than $200 more I could buy a new laptop. I wanted to pass the article along as a warning since this virus continues to change but typically presents the same way.

By Christin Ayers, 7NEWS Reporter - A new computer virus poses as popular antivirus software and experts claim it can harm your hardware and compromise your credit.

The virus appears to come from legitimate antivirus programs like McAfee and Norton. It tells users that their computer is infected, then urges the user to enter credit card information to purchase an upgrade to purge the computer.

Greg Cann, vice president of Centennial-based Accelerated Network Solutions, said once you enter your credit card information, hackers get access to your finances and your hard drive.


“It’s a new spin on an old scam,” said Cann.

Frank Martin almost fell victim to it. His wife nearly downloaded the software before realizing the so-called antivirus software was fraudulent.

“It looks exactly like our virus protection,” said Martin. “So how do you know if your virus protection is any good if this one is exactly like it?”

Cann said, this scam is more difficult to identify than the average email phishing scam, which can be deleted. The anti-virus scam can paralyze a hard drive, seemingly leaving the user with one option -- to pay for an upgrade.

But Cann said there is a way to distinguish a real antivirus scam from a fake one. He said most antivirus programs will not require you to buy anything to purge a virus. If a program requires you to enter financial information before purging your computer, it is probably a scam.

“That is a red flag,” said Cann.

Cann said anyone who downloads the fraudulent software will have to run a legitimate software program to get rid of it. He said users should watch out for new twists to the scam.

“It keeps evolving,” said Cann. “Every six months there's a new change. There's a new threat.”