How to Tell a Virus Protection Hoax From Real
In addition to legitimate antivirus programs, there are many software products that claim to offer virus protection but in reality are just pieces of malicious software designed to steal your information and trick you into spending money. If you don't have very much experience with computers, you may be unable to tell a virus protection hoax from a real virus protection program. You shouldn't worry, though, since the process for figuring this out isn't complicated. It just takes some time and basic knowledge about how to look up information on the internet.
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Instructions
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Look at the behavior of the program. If the program continually pops up requesting that you pay a certain fee to fix problems on your computer, it may be a hoax since many types of fake antivirus programs operate like this. Hoax software may also tell you that you have dozens or even hundreds of infections on your computer, but if you are experiencing no adverse effects (aside from the "virus protection" program nagging you) then you may have a hoax program on your hands. A real virus protection program may require a subscription fee to keep you updated with the latest virus definitions, but you should always be able to use the software to remove malicious software from your computer even if it can't detect the latest viruses or malware.
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Look up the name of the program on a website that keeps track of lists of fake programs, such as the "Rogue/Suspect Security Products List" website in the References section below. If you look at that type of list and compare it to the software that is on your computer, you can quickly tell whether or not the software program is real or a hoax.
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Scan your computer with a free online virus scanner and see if it picks up any infections on your computer. If it picks up no infections, while the "virus protection" program on your computer says that you have infections, the program on your computer is likely a hoax. Similarly, if the online scanner picks up an infection and--after removing it--the program that was on your computer mysteriously disappears, you know that it was a fake because the online scanner detected it as a virus and removed it from your computer.
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