Doctor Antivirus

Doctor Antivirus is a fake security application that is part of a well known scam. These kinds of fake anti-virus applications are used to fool inexperienced computer users into believing that they need to purchase a fake 'full version' of the fake security program. Doctor Antivirus is part of a large family of rogue security programs and has numerous clones. It is important to note that Doctor Antivirus only has the external appearance of an effective security program but that Doctor Antivirus does not actually have the capacity to detect or remove real malware on the victim's computer. ESG security researchers strongly advise against following Doctor Antivirus' instructions and instead to remove this fake security application with the help of a reliable anti-malware application.

Once Doctor Antivirus has been installed on the victim's computer, this fake security program alters the infected computer's settings, allowing Doctor Antivirus to display fake error messages, block access to the Internet and to the victim's files, and to cause a large variety of other symptoms on the infected computer. Doctor Antivirus is designed to take action as soon as the victim logs into Windows, running a fake scan of the infected computer. This scan will always result in a message indicating that there are numerous viruses and Trojans installed on the victim's computer. However, these false positives are meant to convince the victim to pay for a 'full version' of Doctor Antivirus. This supposed 'full version' is actually just as useless as the 'free' version of Doctor Antivirus. However, paying for the full version of this fake security program also allows criminals to gain access to the victim's credit card information. This means that Doctor Antivirus exposes its victims to identity theft and to a variety of other consequences.

How a Computer User Falls Victim of the Doctor Antivirus Scam

Scams like Doctor Antivirus are quite common. In fact, rogue security programs are among the most popular types of malware scams. They are often distributed using other forms of malware, attack websites and spam email messages. Doctor Antivirus is also often bundled with popular programs on file sharing networks or disguised as a fake video codec or Flash upgrade. Because of this, ESG security researchers strongly advise against installing Doctor Antivirus or downloading other, similar rogue security programs from dubious sources.