Rogue security software applications claim to be able to offer the same features as regular antivirus applications. But the simple truth of the matter is they have precisely zero security software capabilities. These rogues claim to be able to detect, remove and protect against malware for one simple reason – they want to scam you.
Out of all the rogues available in the wild, one is of interest to us: Live PC Care. This rogue is usually distributed by fake online scanners. When the user visits specially crafted webpages, a popup that invites him to perform an online scan appears. When the user clicks that popup, a fake online scanner appears, pretends to scan the user’s system, claims to have found malware on it and then advises the user to download and install Live PC Care to keep the computer safe and protected.
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Once installed on the user’s computer, Live PC Care will use various scare tactics to trick the user into thinking his computer is infected – things like fake system scans, phony security alerts, browser hijacking, and so on. The rogue will then claim to be able to remove the infection it detected – but only if the user purchases a license first.
The fact that Live PC Care tries to scam you is hardly surprising. The surprising part has been discovered by Symantec: Live PC Care offers tech support - live tech support.
“The fake antivirus software known as Live PC Care has now gone as far as offering live online support to potential victims. The designers of Live PC Care have added a yellow online support button in the top, right-hand corner of the fake AV software. If a potential victim clicks on the online support button they are brought to a live support chat session. After a number of questions we determined that it was not an automated script, but rather a live person at the other end. The main aim of the online support session is to reassure suspicious victims that Live PC Care is legitimate software and that without activating the software at a cost, your computer system is at risk,” explained Symantec’s Peter Coogan.
Rogue security software applications claim to be able to offer the same features as regular antivirus applications. But the simple truth of the matter is they have precisely zero security software capabilities. These rogues claim to be able to detect, remove and protect against malware for one simple reason – they want to scam you. 
