Trojan.FakeAV is a detection for Trojan horse programs that intentionally misrepresent the security status of a computer. These programs attempt to convince the user to purchase software in order to remove non-existent malware or security risks from the computer. The user is continually prompted to pay for the software using a credit card. Some programs employ tactics designed to annoy or disrupt the activities of the user until the software is purchased.

The threat Trojan.FakeAV was discovered by Symantec Security Response Threat Severity Assessment on October 10, 2007 and was classified as Trojan.

Initial Daily Certified version of virus definitions for Norton security products was released on October 10, 2007 revision 023. It should be noted that users with the older versions of Norton Internet Security are limited to Daily LiveUpdate definitions. For more information, go to the page where the are described virus definitions available for Norton products.

Trojan.FakeAV Threat Assessment

Component	Severity
Wild Level	Medium
Number of Infections	50 - 999
Number of Sites	10+
Geographical Distribution	Medium
Threat Containment	Easy
Removal	Easy
Damage Level	Medium
Distribution Level	Low

According to the Symantec Threat Severity Assessment, overall risk of Trojan.FakeAV is now categorized as «Very Low» — poses little threat to users; rarely even makes headlines; no reports in the wild. Read more about Threat Severity Assessment.

This threat affect the following operating systems:

• Windows 98
• Windows 95
• Windows XP
• Windows Me
• Windows Vista
• Windows NT
• Windows Server 2003
• Windows 2000

More information about Trojan.FakeAV, you can find on the official site of Symantec Corporation, where in addition to useful information you can find technical details and removal instructions: www.symantec.com

It is also recommended to read the article Network security threats, where you can find a brief description and explanation of the most dangerous security threats plus a few simple tips on how to protect your personal computer from them.