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Today, however, that mystery evaporated, as anti-virus companies reported seeing Conficker systems being updated with SpywareProtect2009, a so-called "scareware" product that uses fake security alerts to frighten consumers into paying for bogus computer security software.According to Kaspersky Labs, once the scareware is downloaded, the victim will see the usual warnings, "which naturally asks if you want to remove the threats it's 'detected'. Of course, this service comes at a price - $49.95." Kaspersky reports that the rogue anti-virus product is being downloaded from a Web server in Ukraine.
This development adds an interesting wrinkle. The first version of Conficker contained within its genetic makeup instructions telling infected systems to visit a site called TrafficConverter.biz. As I noted last month, this was a site where distributors of rogue anti-virus products would go for the latest programs and links to the latest download locations. Many affiliates were making six-figure paychecks each month distributing this worthless software by various means, all of them extremely sneaky if not downright illegal.
In its bi-annual security report released this week, Microsoft cited rogue anti-virus as one of the most prolific and fastest-growing threats facing Windows users today.
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