Will Windows 8’s new interface herald full-screen scareware?

Graham Cluley
Graham Cluley
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Microsoft has designed a new user interface for Windows 8, with an emphasis on bright colours and friendliness.

Personally, the interface (dubbed “Metro”) reminds me of a child’s toy.

One of the interesting features of the Metro user interface is that apps are designed to be full-screen, without any surrounding furniture. That means you won’t see scroll bars and the like, unless you interact with the interface.

One has to wonder whether this will lead to a wave of new scareware/fake anti-virus attacks.

Currently, malicious hackers poison webpages to display what appears to be a warning about malware found on your computer – tricking users into downloading software. The initial alert pops up in your web browser.

These phony alerts have proven to be a very effective way for cybercriminals to fool users into installing their malicious scareware. And it’s very likely we’ll continue to see hackers trick your browser into displaying bogus warning messages

But, with Windows 8,…

Read more in my article on the Naked Security website.

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Graham Cluley is a veteran of the cybersecurity industry, having worked for a number of security companies since the early 1990s when he wrote the first ever version of Dr Solomon's Anti-Virus Toolkit for Windows. Now an independent analyst, he regularly makes media appearances and is an international public speaker on the topic of cybersecurity, hackers, and online privacy. Follow him on Twitter, Mastodon, Bluesky, or drop him an email.

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