TROJ_FAKEAV.CLS

The TROJ_FAKEAV.CLS Trojan is a malware infection designed to infect a computer system with a fake security program from the FakeAV family of rogue anti-malware applications. Some examples of rogue anti-malware programs linked to TROJ_FAKEAV.CLS include Windows Smart Protection, Windows Functionality Checker and Windows Shield Tool. While these kinds of fake security programs can come from several different sources and found to be associated with multiple Trojans dropper and downloaders, TROJ_FAKEAV.CLS in particular is linked to a series of spam email scams and to a campaign of malicious links on online social networks like Facebook. If you suspect that your computer system has become exposed to TROJ_FAKEAV.CLS, ESG security researchers strongly recommend using a reliable anti-malware program from a reputable source to scan your computer system and remove TROJ_FAKEAV.CLS and any malware linked to this Trojan infection. TROJ_FAKEAV.CLS is usually not difficult to recognize, since TROJ_FAKEAV.CLS will usually involve the sudden appearance of an intrusive, bogus anti-malware application on your computer without your authorization.

TROJ_FAKEAV.CLS and Whitney Houston's Death

One would be hard-pressed to find a connection between TROJ_FAKEAV.CLS and recently-deceased international pop superstar Whitney Houston. However, PC security analysts have found that celebrity deaths that receive a lot of publicity tend to lead to waves of malware attacks. In fact, the death of Amy Winehouse in 2011 also was associated with a wave of TROJ_FAKEAV.CLS Trojan infections. This is because criminals will take advantage of these kinds of celebrity deaths to send out spam email or to spam Facebook walls with links claiming to contain news on that particular celebrity's death. Inexperienced computer users will often fall for these scams, clicking on the embedded link in the spam email message or on their Facebook friends' links thinking that it will take them to a legitimate news story. While these kinds of messages will often take the victim to a fake news story, in the background they will take advantage of vulnerabilities in the victim's web browser, operating system or applications in order to deliver malware like TROJ_FAKEAV.CLS into their victim's computer system. Because of this ESG security researchers strongly recommend getting your news from reputed websites rather than from unsolicited email messages or from random links that you may stumble upon on a social network.