The success and penetration of fraudulent security software depends on its ability to scare the user into buying a fake security product. Over the years we have seen that many social engineering techniques have evolved in attempts to achieve this. This is the latest and most convincing of them all.
This technique is employed by a recently found, in-the-wild sample of fake security software that misleads users by claiming to be a legitimate “Microsoft Security Essential.” The real social engineering is not found in the name, but in how it works (step by step) to trick users into buying this unknown security product.
- The Latest (and Most Convincing) Rogue A.V. Social Engineering
[edit: Fixed posting error.]