Pseudoviruses

Pseudoviruses are viral programs that attract the attention of victims, but are actually harmful and dangerous. A pseudovirus is the same as a virus that “pretends” that it is not a virus or deceptively declares itself to be useful for the PC. Such malicious programs, as a rule, reproduce on their own, are automatically registered in startup and are launched when the operating system boots. They can deliver very unpleasant surprises to the user. If an unlucky user launches a pseudo-virus, the entire operating system will begin to uninstall itself spontaneously. Users will not even realize that the computer is not working properly until all important elements are removed from the system.

There can be many examples: for example, you downloaded a movie, and instead of the file you were asked to install a pseudo-antivirus program that automatically removes other programs you have installed and the antivirus program along with it. You will take this as an error and close this page. But it will return you to the original site, where the process of registration and further installation of the virus program was described. Even if you successfully block a malicious site, you can still end up with a virus on your computer as this program uses social engineering to get your attention.

Some viruses, such as Trojan horses (which pretend to be innocent programs that open with a single click), can take various forms, telling deceived users that they are securely connected to the Internet and inviting them to install programs from unknown sources. Others, such as spyware, collect sensitive information such as passwords and credit card numbers and then sell it to criminals.