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Virus alert: Google ads lure users to fake Norton download site

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30th Sep 2008
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If something sounds too good to be true, it probably isn't. So think twice if you are ever tempted to download a free copy of Norton Anti-Virus from the internet.

Graham Cluley, senior security analyst with Sophos, recently raised the alarm in his blog about a Trojan virus that was being disseminated via a bogus Norton download site.

After searching on Google for "free antivirus", Cluley clicked on one of the sites featured in the Sponsored Links column of the search results. This link led him to a convincing spoof page that was swathed in yellow - the corporate colour of Norton owner Symantec. But his attempt to download the "free" version of the anti-virus application ws interrupted by his own anti-virus code's blocking the installation of the FakeAV-AD Trojan horse virus.

If you have a few spare moments, Cluey's video of the exercise is engaging and instructive. Pausing to admire the Norton Anti-Virus packaging, which features a picture of a Hulk-like figure, Cluey quips, "It looks like Peter Norton has been working out."

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