As Windows 7 begins to proliferate among enterprise and personal PCs, it was only a matter of time before fake antivirus software, or scareware, began to target users of the new operating system. Security expert Liang Zhang of SophosLabs AU recently identified the currently spreading fake antivirus in a recent blog posting.

This malware specifically targets users of Windows 7 and appears in the form of a pop-up dialogue box, which attempts to tell you that your Windows 7 PC has many serious threats,” said Zhang, who identifies the rouge file as Troj/FakeAle-RK, a trojan that infects the Windows operating system. “When a user clicks ‘Remove all Threats immediately’, another pop-up will be generated asking them to download a file called win_protection_update.exe."

Of course, as Zhang notes, this executable is another ruse, which downloads yet another piece of malware that holds users machines for ransom by requesting payment to ‘disinfect’ the computer.

Zhang muses that the problems this fake antivirus claims to cure were never there to begin with. “Obviously, I won’t enter my credit card details at all”, said Zhang, warning “neither should you”.