Would You Trust Software Promoted by Spam?

A rather interesting piece of spam arrived in the inbox today.

Instead of promoting the usual pharmaceutical or replica Rolex garbage, this spam is pushing a program called PC SpeedScan Pro, which supposedly helps your computer run faster by fixing registry errors and such.

The spammers attempt to build a bit of credibility for their email by setting the sender’s name to “Microsoft Certified” (email address is email.alertseyrgz@proinfolink.com). However, that may be overshadowed by the fact that the entire message is compiled of 3 images that both educate and frighten the reader:

From: Microsoft Certified (email.alertseyrgz@proinfolink.com)
Subject: Please Scan your PC for Harmful Errors!
Urgent Notice to ALL Yahoo Users:

There has been a recent increase in malicious software and malware attacks on home PCs, resulting in slow performance, internet access interruptions, frequent crashes and in some extreme cases, even the loss of important pictures, documents and files.

Please scan your PC to ensure that it is protected and safe from these attacks and the potential loss of these important documents. The scan is absolutely FREE and will immediately tell you about your computer's safety status.

To begin your 100% Free Scan, please click HERE.

If you prefer not to receive e-mails from Internet Alert Service in the future, click on the link below: unsubscribe@internetalertservice.com

Or send mail to:
Internet Alert Service
201 Spring Garden St, Suite 400
Philadelphia, PA 19123

This email was sent because you signed up and/or registered with one of our affiliates. To stop receiving mail from our service, CLICK HERE or mail to P.O. Box 29502 #64216 Las Vegas, Nevada 89126-9502. This message has been sent to you by a mailing service and does not guarantee or support any of the offers advertised in this email. This email may be part of a continuing campaign.

It was no surprise that the unsubscription service linked in the footer doesn’t work.

Clicking on the top half of the message will redirect you to a page on Ascentive’s – makers of the PC SpeedScan Pro software – website.

Users beware, though, as there are numerous complaints that the software advertised on FinallyFastPC.com is scareware and to make things worse, Ascentive was recently ordered to refund thousands of customers in Washington for its deceptive business practices.

As I’ve mentioned before, it’s typically never a good idea to purchase software from unsolicited emails.

By ordering software via spam links, you're feeding spammers as they typically earn a commission thanks to whatever affiliate program they've signed up for. As long as their spam emails result in sales, they'll continue flooding our inboxes with spam. No sales means no incentive to spam.

If you’re looking for a good registry and file cleaner, I suggest you check out CCleaner by Piriform. I use CCleaner on my home and work computers. It’s easy to use, has a good reputation and is completely free.

Stay clear of the scareware and avoid purchasing anything advertised in spam!

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