Tips to Identify Fake Antivirus
“Antivirus here and there, which one to trust…” Okay that might be a bad phrase, but you get the point right. Fake antivirus software are in line with some of the major threats prevalent on the Internet today. Many people have ended up paying money for such software which are either malicious or just keep lying on their computer hogging space and doing nothing. Cutting the long story short, we are giving you tips to identity fake antivirus software which have become more deceitful with time.
How Do Fake Antivirus Get on People’s Computers?
Most of the time, fraudulent or malicious websites serve users with popups claiming that their computer is infected. And to remove the infection, they must download a free copy of Antivirus available on the website itself. In other words, scammers use scare tactics to trick uninformed users into downloading such fake software.
How to Identify Fake Antivirus Software
Exaggerated Notifications
Fake antivirus have a knack of exaggerating things. They will inform you about threats that do not exist on your computer. They will always draw a sense of urgency and panic.
Pay Per Clean
Fake antivirus are solely created to siphon money from their victims. A fake antivirus will project as if it is scanning your PC for infections, and after scanning it will demand money to clean the system. A genuine antivirus, even if it’s a free trial copy, will detect an infection, clean it and give you a report of the same.
Every Scan Detects Infections
Fake antivirus have this mysterious, supernatural technology that helps them detect at least a dozen infections with every scan. Even if two harmless notepads on your system are scanned by a fake antvirus, odds are, you will get an infection alert.
Bucket Full of Alerts and Notifications
An essential feature of modern antivirus software is their less intrusive nature. Most legitimate, trusted, and advanced security software try not to bother the user unless it is a matter of great urgency. Quick Heal, for instance, has a feature called Silent Mode. Once it is activated, you will not receive any kind of notifications on your computer. And this, does not affect your PC’s overall security. It just means that the antivirus is doing its job without creating a scene. Fake antivirus, on the other hand, are like hypersensitive alert systems that go off even with the touch of a feather. Such software will keep pushing fake, annoying popups and notifications.
Google is not Speaking Good About it
If Googling your antivirus gives back badmouthed user reviews and comments, and no legitimate website or source, then that speaks volumes about the antivirus you are going to install or you already have. Trusted and known antivirus software are placed pretty well in Google search results. They may be having negative user comments, but which service or product does not. The important thing is, they are real and do what they should do – protect users from malware and viruses.
So, that would be all for a quick lowdown on some useful tips you can use to spot fake antivirus. If you have Quick Heal on your system, then you need not worry about this. However, you can always share these tips with your friends and acquaintances. Stay safe!
53 Comments
Nice Article !!! Thanks Rajib!
But it can also be possible that the computer is infected and the antivirus shows real notifications. On top of that googling it would not show legit results simply because it is prepared by an engineering graduate from IIT. Nice Article though
Good Information !!! Thanks Rajib!
Thanks, that was informative
Dear sir,
It is a good piece of information/advice that can help surfers to detect a fake antivirus software and save them from problems.
Thanks.
SPS Bindra
Thank you
Nice Article !!!
Honest advise,I appriciate your immotion for us.
Thanks for spreading awareness. These days, users are so busy that they press the panic button & end up paying for fake antivirus.
We are using Quickheal & its a no nonsense antivirus doing its task for which it was programmed.
Very useful and important tips for frequent online peoples. Thanks for the tips.
good information
thanks, good and helpful information for net user
thanks rajib..
Antivirus files are reported and the investigation process are on .virus files are virus. there are no antivirus files. The broadband connection to the computer lets in virus files. this has to be reported.
thanks for your information
V. Good
I am very happy because this site is very fantastic for information…
How to safe your PC`s??
Thanks, Good & helpful information for anyone who`s use to net…..
thanks
I am a “QUICK HEALER” for long time,so never wander for any other fishy AVs…
Good topic & well explained. thx, eager to know about different unwanted ads & how to prevent / block those. see u all
Hi Rajib, I get a popup saying that I hav suspicious files in quarantine folder, & they ask me to giv my email id , so that it can be sent to ur laboratory for analysis. wat shud I do? .pl. advice.regards. mukesh.
Hi Mukesh,
We request you to call up our support center on 0-927-22-33-000. They will help you resolve this issue and get to the bottom of the suspicious files.
Thanks and regards.
it is very useful tips for those people who try such practice.using fake antivirus is very dangerous and harmful for personal security as well as data.
Recently I got quick heal on my samsung s4. While browsing I got an alert regarding some virus and I was asked to press ok to remove it. After doing this I was directed to some 360 Degree antivirus available at play store.i finally installed this and it removed the virus. What should I have done? Should I ignore such alerts? Please advise.
Hi Mayank,
Firstly, if you have Quick Heal on your S4, you need not pay attention to other such alerts and popups. Secondly, even if you do not have Quick Heal on your phone, you should never trust such messages and popups and ads that come up. This is a very common trick used by fake antivirus apps to deceive people.
Regards.
Thanks a lot
thz,
good and helpful information….
nice article. insight to not to let yourself be fooled by pop ups ctc.
I am very happy because this site is very fantastic for information…
How to safe your PC`s?.Highly valuable information to all net users.Thank you.
Dear friend,
Thanks for the useful and informative message. Can you please advise me as to how to get rid of advertisement which pop up while you browse the net. If we cancel the message the advertisement site gets open. please tell us how to get rid rid of such pop ups.
Thanks and regards.
Ajay Tyagi
Hi Ajay,
Popup ads do not always indicate the presence of spyware on your system. Moreover, Quick Heal will protect your computer from such malicious programs.
The popup ads that you are referring to, mainly occur because of an adware (software that displays additional advertisements in your browser), that might have got installed on your system without your knowledge. These software usually come with other free software that you install. So, before installing any such software, see if you are getting any additional programs with it; for example, a toolbar, or a search box, a music player, etc. It is wise not to install such additional programs.
A simple way to get rid of pop-up ads, is to uninstall any recently installed or unknown programs from your computer. Some common examples of adware programs are LyricsSay-1, LyricXeeker, HD-Plus, Browse2Save, WebCake 3.00, DownloadTerms 1.0, LyricsBuddy-1, TidyNetwork.com, ElectroLyrics-1, a2zLyrics-1, and SimpleLyrics.
Another method of removing pop-up ads, is to review the add-ons on all your browsers. Check if any of the add-ons are one of the programs listed above, or are unknown to you. If so, then remove all such add-ons.
Resetting your browser can also help at times.
To reset Chrome, follow – https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/3296214?hl=en
To reset Firefox, follow – https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/reset-firefox-easily-fix-most-problems
To reset IE, follow – https://support.microsoft.com/kb/923737
If you require any further assistance, you can get in touch with our support team at 0-927-22-33-000.
You can also raise a query at https://www.quickheal.com/submitticket.asp. Our support team will get back to you to resolve the issue you are facing.
Regards.
it is good protection in my computer because of (QUICK HEAL FULL HEALTH PROTECTION)
Good Info.
thanks, its realy good. I fill it too before using quick heal…..
prashant
Thanks for this great information!!
Good Efforts to save from fake people.
The article is very good, informative and protects us from being fooled by tricksters
Regards
Gopinath
Very Nice…..
Thakns…
Thank you so much Brother!
Very useful information.
thanks but i have a problem with my laptop after installing quick heal antivirus.
The problem is my laptop is getting hang while function in such a way that i am forced to press power button in order to restart laptop.
kindly resolve.
Hi Vishal,
It is not known whether this issue is being caused by the Quick Heal that is installed on your laptop, or some other reason. We request you to kindly call our support center on 0-927-22-33-000. Or visit this link to submit a ticket – https://www.quickheal.com/submitticket.asp. They will help you resolve this issue immediately.
Thanks.
good info;
vgood
thank you for use full info
Thank You For This Information.Its Great
Thank You
Thanks for this great information!!
HELPFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thankssssssssssss
Thanks for the information, Its simple to choose the FAKE antivirus, So again thanks
keep updating such information for better security…..thanks
Dear Mr Rajib Singha,
I am using Quick Heal for last 3 years. Each year I am noticing something strange with Quick Heal. Kindly answer in detail.
–In every new installation and use of Quick Heal for some months, it asks for upgrade or shows notification as License expired. Then it automatically starts to download Quick Heal with two bar and installs by removing existing Quick Heal. After installation it asks for fresh update downloads. Why this happens?
Thank you very much.
Sanjeeve. Odisha.
Hi Sanjeeve,
Thanks for writing in. Our support team can help you with this:
1. Kindly submit your query at https://bit.ly/Askus
2. You can also contact them at 0-927-22-33-000
3. Alternatively, you can chat with our engineers by visiting https://bit.ly/QHSupport
Regards.