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Free antivirus could lead to exposure to online threats

Internet users trawling the internet for free online security products risk exposing themselves to online threats by downloading fake anti-virus products, an internet security expert has said.

According to experts at Sophos, one of the results that come up when "free antivirus" is keyed into search engine Google is a "free" copy of Norton AntiVirus 2008.

This link is however not from the legitimate online security vendor but a gateway to a download of the FakeAV-AD trojan horse.

"There is a real problem with hackers using paid-for search engine adverts to bring traffic to their websites, with the ultimate aim of conning people out of money," said Graham Cluley of Sophos.

"If you were foolhardy enough to download this bogus product you shouldn't be surprised if you are bombarded with fake security warnings and urged to buy the 'full' version - putting your computer's security and your bank balance at risk."

According to a recent study by internet security vendor Marshal, around 30 per cent of internet users have bought goods advertised in spam emails.

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