Malware designed to elicit fear, shock, or anxiety
Not to be confused with Careware or Shareware.
Dialog from SpySheriff, designed to scare users into installing the rogue software
Scareware is a form of malware which uses social engineering to cause shock, anxiety, or the perception of a threat in order to manipulate users into buying unwanted software.[1] Scareware is part of a class of malicious software that includes rogue security software, ransomware and other scam software that tricks users into believing their computer is infected with a virus, then suggests that they download and pay for fake antivirus software to remove it.[2] Usually the virus is fictional and the software is non-functional or malware itself.[3] According to the Anti-Phishing Working Group, the number of scareware packages in circulation rose from 2,850 to 9,287 in the second half of 2008.[4] In the first half of 2009, the APWG identified a 585% increase in scareware programs.[5]
The "scareware" label can also apply to any application or virus which pranks users with intent to cause anxiety or panic.
^"What is Malware? | IBM". www.ibm.com. Archived from the original on 2023-12-07. Retrieved 2023-12-06.
^"Millions tricked by 'scareware'". BBC News. 2009-10-19. Archived from the original on 2018-06-22. Retrieved 2009-10-20.
^'Scareware' scams trick searchers Archived 2017-08-10 at the Wayback Machine. BBC News (2009-03-23). Retrieved on 2009-03-23.
^"Scareware scammers adopt cold call tactics". The Register. 2009-04-10. Archived from the original on 2018-02-10. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
^"Phishing Activity Trends Report: 1st Half 2009" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2012-04-15. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
Scareware is a form of malware which uses social engineering to cause shock, anxiety, or the perception of a threat in order to manipulate users into...
NightMare is a scareware program distributed on the Fish Disks for the Amiga computer (Fish #448). It is generally credited to be the first scareware program...
tool that actually installs malware on their computer. It is a form of scareware that manipulates users through fear, and a form of ransomware. Rogue security...
AOL, Inc. The lawsuit alleged Support.com and AOL's Computer Checkup "scareware" (which uses software developed by Support.com) misrepresented that their...
controversial topic. The issue is further clouded by the fact that malware and scareware are often associated with utilities of this type. Due to the sheer size...
2012, James Gross filed a lawsuit against Symantec for distributing fake scareware scanners that purportedly alerted users of issues with their computers...
WinFixer was a family of scareware rogue security programs developed by Winsoftware which claimed to repair computer system problems on Microsoft Windows...
Retrieved June 1, 2008. "FTC kills scareware operation". 10 December 2008. Retrieved December 10, 2008. "$100 Million 'Scareware' CEO Was Already a Fugitive"...
Shaileshkumar "Sam" Jain and Bjorn Sundin. The company developed and sold scareware anti-virus programs that claimed to detect and remove viruses from computers...
Robert McMillan (September 15, 2009). "New York Times tricked into serving scareware ad". Scammers tricked the New York Times' Digital Advertising department...
harvest usernames, passwords, bank account and credit card numbers." Scareware, as the name suggests, is a form of malware which uses social engineering...
maintaining a list of legitimate antivirus engines. This was in response to "scareware" products that present themselves as antivirus software but are either...
phishing emails or calls impersonating legitimate tech companies, and scareware tactics pressuring users into unnecessary purchases due to alleged virus...
infects, and demands a ransom in order for the restriction to be removed. Scareware is a program of usually limited or no benefit, containing malicious payloads...
system in some fashion, or claims to lock the system but does not (e.g., a scareware program). Payloads may display a fake warning purportedly by an entity...
and is believed to be written by the same authors. SpyProtect 2009, a scareware rogue antivirus product. Symptoms of a Conficker infection include: Account...
extinguish Fear appeal Fear mongering List of fallacies Moral panic Red Scare Scareware The terrorists have won "Full alphabetic list of Fallacies". Retrieved...
version of ZoneAlarm started showing a "Global Virus Alert" popup as a scareware tactic to get users to switch to their paid security suite. The popup...
Tapsnake is a scareware scam involving coercion to buy protection from a non-existent computer virus that has been distributed in various ways. It was...
the commercial keyloggers, 67 percent of rootkits, but only half of the scareware samples. The product's real-time protection found 83 percent of all malware...
the joint and copying the keys so that they can later burgle it (The Scareware Scam). 10 86 "Episode 10" 17 September 2010 (17 September 2010) Actor...
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