The Chinese government have certainly been grabbing headlines over the last few years with regards to the internet. Everything from starting their own Chinese-language internet inaccessible from the outside world to trying to hack into Google accounts. Now the government has decided to target hacker websites in order to show how committed they are to stamping out cyber crime. Those Chinese certainly understand irony, don’t they…

The latest news comes about a site which apparently had hundreds of thousands of registered users, with over ten thousand of those signing up for paid accounts which supposedly granted them access to hacking software. Needless to say this site has now been shut down and its owners thrown in a dark cell (well, probably).

Apparently this one was the largest “hacker training” website in China, and had earned over $1m in membership fees for its owners. The move to shut it down could be tied to the Google fiasco, saving face for a government increasingly seen as a meddling force in the future of the internet.

The number of computer users being trapped by dodgy security software is increasing, according to a recent study by security firm Symantec. Usually this fake software is advertised using banner adverts telling users that their system is infected with a virus or needs a security scan. But once the user clicks on the advert they are taken to the scammers’ website, where they will be pressured into buying the software on offer.

Once installed, the fake anti-viruses typically install other viruses and malware which is then used to steal confidential information such as bank and credit card details. Another facet of this is that the software will also try to suppress any other security software currently installed on the system, opening the floodgates for more malware to find it’s way onto the system.

The problem with this scam is that even if the user manages to safeguard their data, they have still lost out by paying for the software in the first place. This software does nothing of any use, and the money will end up with criminal gangs who make millions a year from the scheme. Fake review sites are also helping the criminals by giving a falsely positive view of the software they are trying to hawk to their unwitting victims.

Symantec is warning that up to 40 million people may have fallen foul of this scam in the last 12 months alone, a sign that things are not improving at all. The company is warning users to be ever more vigilant and to only trust known brands when buying anti-viruses and other similar applications. However, with more and more novice computer users going online all the time, and for longer periods, the chances of them being caught out are increasing too.