Pop-up Messages Hoax users into Purchasing Bakasoftware

Unsuspecting users need to seriously start being extra careful as cyber crooks have found yet another devious way to scam users. Scammers have resorted to hoaxing users into buying fake anti-virus software from them, by making them think their PC's are infected. Earning up to$150,000 a week, this is a less detectable option for scammers.

Basically what usually happens is, irritating messages pop-up on the users screen, informing them that their computer is infected. Then they give users the option to click and purchase a software package known as Antivirus XP 2008 or Antivirus XP 2009. This software is said to clear their machines of all infestation and comes at a price of $49.95.

These pop-up messages are sometimes conveyed through advertisements on websites, but are more commonly directed straight to the users PC should it already be apart of a botnet. These days by simply browsing the web you are at risk or being secretly attacked, it has become the norm for botherders to join affiliate programs that specialize is the sale of bogus anti-virus software packages.

Bakasoftware, a Russian organization, is an affiliate program known to pay associates a commission of between 58 and 90 percent of the sales they made. The aforementioned pop-up message informs users they have 309 infections on their PC's, then their desktop wallpaper changes and their screen savers change to fake Blue Screens of Death, scaring unsuspecting users into quickly purchasing the recommended fake anti-virus software.

Once they've started the pop-ups continuously reappear until the user purchases the fake recommended software, which is a clone of the original security software. On "purchasing" the fake software, another message pops up informing the user that their PC is being scanned and the problem has been rectified. Scammers sure went through a lot of trouble with this one hey.

Bakasoftware doesn't hack PC's, it simply runs a program, therefore law enforcements won't shut it down. Additionally, Russia is never targeted that way they keep the Russian law enforcements off their backs. The risk in selling fake anti-virus software is much smaller that the risk of stealing sensitive information like bank account details. In the end, scammers have nothing to loose.

People are advised to only purchase trusted software packages, and keep in mind that legitimate software providers usually offer users a trial scan and clean-up before demanding customers to pay up.