Antivirus Center

"Antivirus Center" sounds like a very plain, ordinary name, doesn't it? After all, many legitimate security programs use the phrase in the names of their interfaces. However, if you have something that is only called Antivirus Center, which claims to be anti-virus software and is telling you that your computer is packed with viruses, then your system is infected with malware. As a rogue anti-virus application, Antivirus Center exists in order to scare you into paying money for phony protection from nonexistent threats.

Generally, Antivirus Center is very much a run-of-the-mill bogus security program, because Antivirus Center doesn't really do anything special. Antivirus Center causes all of the same symptoms as all of the other phony anti-virus programs out there. What makes Antivirus Center dangerous, aside from its campaign of scare tactics, is that Antivirus Center uses a name and appearance that may trick some PC users into believing that Antivirus Center is a Windows component. In other words, it is substantial to make certain that you do not confuse Antivirus Center with the Security Center that is part of Windows XP and Vista. Antivirus Center uses a Windows logo and Windows styling in all of its fake interfaces, in an attempt to mislead you. Don't fall for it!

Symptoms Resulting from the Presence of Antivirus Center

When Antivirus Center has infected your computer, you will notice the following symptoms:

• Every time Windows starts, the Antivirus Center interface loads. From this screen, Antivirus Center will pretend to scan your computer for threats, and the scan cannot be exited or skipped. Antivirus Center will always give you a long list of results of this phony scan, and the list of results can sometimes contain names of legitimate viruses, but Antivirus Center did not detect any of those things on your computer. Antivirus Center can't actually scan for threats!
• Antivirus Center will urge you to remove the fake threats that Antivirus Center has "found," and Antivirus Center will claim that the only way to remove them, is buying an Antivirus Center license. Of course, the license is worthless, because Antivirus Center is not real security software.
• Antivirus Center will cause frequent pop-up alerts, which will appear from the system tray in a way similar to that of actual Windows alerts. These alerts will always make crazy, false claims about your system's security, including bogus warnings about hacked social networking accounts and other information theft. The alerts will always prompt you to pay for a license for the phony Antivirus Center.
• Antivirus Center will disable all of your programs except for your web browser, which Antivirus Center will hijack so that you can only visit the Antivirus Center payment website.

Please remember that no matter what the alerts or websites for Antivirus Center may say, Antivirus Center is a malicious fraud. No matter how much money you pay, Antivirus Center will not become a functioning security product, and Antivirus Center will not just decide to leave your computer alone. There is no good reason to pay the money that the malware demands.

How the Fake Antivirus Center Software Spreads

Antivirus Center does not spread through a virus. Rather, Antivirus Center uses a Trojan in order to find a way into the computers that it infects. The Trojan may be hidden in any harmless-looking file that you download, but fake Flash updates are extremely common. Once the Trojan has downloaded, it drops the files for Antivirus Center, and it makes some changes to the Registry. The next time Windows starts, Antivirus Center will be active.

Antivirus Center is from a long line of fake security programs that belong to the WinWeb Security family, including System Security, Antivirus Security, Total Security 2009, Security Tool, Trojan.RogueAV.a.gen, System Adware Scanner 2010, FakeAlert-KW.e, Advanced Security Tool 2010, System Tool 2011, Security Shield, MS Removal Tool, Total Security, System Security 2011, Essential Cleaner, Security Shield Pro 2011, Personal Shield Pro, Security Shield 2011, Security Sphere 2012, Advanced PC Shield 2012, Futurro Antivirus. All of these rogue anti-virus applications are part of a wide-spread Internet scam, and Antivirus Center just happens to be the version of this malware that appeared in late April 2011.