SAYATA

Cyberthieves are increasingly planting fake security alerts that pop up when computer users access a legitimate website. The "alert" warns them of a virus and offers security software, sometimes for free and sometimes for a fee.

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Anytime I happen on to such a site I automatically hit alt+ctrl+Del to pull up the task manager and I close the browser using that method. I do that anytime anything pops up that looks anyway suspect to me.

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The popup may be somone trying to sell suspect software or may actually be part of routine to load a malware/trojan onto the computer. What is really bad about the schemers, they make people suspect everything online that has not been well branded by the elite media. And of course companies like Symantec are more than happy to feed on that mistrust to try to build their own business up.

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In the early days McAfee was a great company that provided their software free to BBS operators. That goes back to when BBS's and CB radios ruled and the internet was not yet a household name. Now, at times, McAfee software is behind the curve on protecting the computer and they put getting a renewed subscription ahead of protecting the community. I've pretty much always disliked the Norton Utilities and Symantec. Both McAfee and Symantec have at times put out software that I believe: have had memory leaks, have made computers more than a little sluggish, added hassle to installing legitimate software, and have not provided a level of protection to justify the price of the software. That from the beginning microsoft itself did not put priority in creating a secure computer system with free virus protection raises question. How many microsoft security issues have been by accident and how many have been back door by government design?

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More Information: Article: http://tech.yahoo.com/news/nm/us_cybersecurity_symantec