Rogue antivirus program.

In light of reports of increasing incidents of scareware and rogue antivirus programs recently appearing on the Internet, Barracuda Networks Inc. announced it is aware of a Web site promoting a rogue spy-ware program called "Barracuda Antivirus." If downloaded, reports indicate that the program performs a fake scan of the user's computer, when in actuality it is installing spyware that will subsequently display pop-up ads and other unwanted applications. "This rogue 'Barracuda Antivirus' program is in no way affiliated with Barracuda Networks and is just one of a string of recent examples of hackers attempting to spread malicious programs using an established and trusted Internet security brand," said Stephen Pao for Barracuda Networks. "Our threat databases have been updated to protect all Barracuda Networks customers from visiting or downloading content from this rogue site and we advise all businesses and consumers to work directly with their trusted Internet security product vendors when deciding which solutions will best suit the needs of their networks." In addition, Barracuda Networks is reaching out to fellow Internet security vendors to ensure that their databases are also updated to protect customers from inadvertently accessing the Web sites that are hosting the fake executable program.

www.barracudanetworks.com