Microsoft joins suit against scareware scammers

Microsoft has joined Washington state in a lawsuit against scammers who use “scareware” to sell useless and often malicious software. The vendors, who will not be identified until Monday, are being charged under the state’s Computer Spyware Act. So called “scareware” is the name given to those programs that advertise via ads made to look like warnings from Windows XP or Vista. They usually “warn” the viewer that they may have an urgent sounding (yet fake) computer issue and that their software is needed to fix it. Instead, the consumer either wastes money on a useless program or ends up with spyware or malware on their system.