Windows 7: Yahoo! mail advertisement leads to fakerean software

I just followed an advertisement in my Yahoo! mail for "3 easy tips to keep your PC clean and quick" which was advertised as part of Yahoo! and was not delivered through an e-mail I received.



I should be a bit more clear. My e-mail inbox was empty; I keep my e-mail accounts clean on a regular basis. When Yahoo! mail is empty, the area where e-mails usually show up becomes blank and then is replaced with advertisements. I assume these ads allow Yahoo! to have a free e-mail option for users by helping pay for the servers. At any rate, it was one of these advertisements I opened.

I will not link to it here as it contains a link to software that is malicious. The software claims that there are viruses on the system and asks for $30 to remove them. Just wanted to provide a warning for those who use Yahoo! mail.

Never click on any ads in Yahoo mail. I stopped using it because it has too many.

My security software blocked the link within the ad, so I was not infected. I am always curious about ads regarding speeding up and cleaning PCs since they generally advertise software that does the opposite. This ad was no different, and actually linked to software that will place viruses on the system just to get $30 to remove it. Here are some known variants: Encyclopedia entry: Win32/FakeRean - Learn more about malware - Microsoft Malware Protection Center

That's the hope of these scumbags. They hope your curiosity will get you to open their mail. I NEVER open those types of mail no matter how enticing some of them are. You never know when your protection will fail you and not block their crap.

Jim

Jim, I think you misunderstood. I had an empty e-mail box, and the advertisement was through Yahoo! itself, not through an e-mail. I do not open questionable e-mails (only questionable advertisements, apparently).

I have clarified my first post as I realized you were misled by my inability to do so the first time. My apologies.

No problem. I use Yahoo Mail for my junk mail and get a lot of spam. I will be sure to watch out for the ads on Yahoo. Thanks for clearing it up.

Jim

Have you reported the ad to Yahoo? That's probably not something they want to advertise for on their site.

I reported it to Yahoo! and to the company that the ad says sponsored the ad. The ad was for software through a different company than the company that was sponsoring it, so I wonder if it was truly sponsored by said company...

This is excellent advice!
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I was waiting to see if Yahoo! would respond. I still have not heard back. The advertisement is back and shows up in my empty inbox once my inbox is empty again. I had thought maybe it was removed since I had not seen it in over a week, but apparently not...

The advertisement: How to keep your PC clean and quick in my opinion should read How to download a fake virus for extortion...