I would like to thank Ron Lewis for these great pointers about keeping your computer safe from predatory invasions:

Safe Computing – Learn to spot “FAKE ALERTS”

We’re frequently seeing folks, regardless of computer literacy, being fooled by some nasty scareware that pops up fake alerts that their system is infected or the hard drive is failing.  These alerts can look very similar to the real thing with minor differences and can be quite alarming.  Unfortunately, when a user clicks on any button the malware then burrows into the system and can be difficult to remove. Your best defense to know, by sight, what the warning screens are for the program(s) protecting your system from infection.  If you are online and suddenly get an alert that your system is infected, do the following:

• DON’T CLICK ANYTHING!;
• Take a breath and ask yourself if this is a real alert or not?;
• Do the graphics look familiar or not?;
• Is there a readily identifiable Trademark that tells you exactly who published the software that is giving you the alert?;
• Is the name of the popup sort of generic (BIG CLUE!!)?;
• Be sure or call us and ask for assistance.

 Make yourself familiar with the software protecting your system.  Open it up.  Explore it.  Check out the help.  Most of all, get familiar with what it looks like and who made it.  That way you’ll have a better idea whether an alert is real or not.  A little self-education can save you some stress, inconvenience and some money by knowing a Fake Alert when you see one.  BTW -  Google “FAKE ALERT” and you’ll find plenty of examples of what they look like.

Ron Lewis     ComputerCare     www.computercare.org