‘Firefox need to update immediately’ Fake Alert

Posted: February 4, 2013

Threat Metric

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Threat Level: The threat level scale goes from 1 to 10 where 10 is the highest level of severity and 1 is the lowest level of severity. Each specific level is relative to the threat's consistent assessed behaviors collected from SpyHunter's risk assessment model.

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Volume Count: Similar to the detection count, the Volume Count is specifically based on the number of confirmed and suspected threats infecting systems on a daily basis. High volume counts usually represent a popular threat but may or may not have infected a large number of systems. High detection count threats could lay dormant and have a low volume count. Criteria for Volume Count is relative to a daily detection count.

Trend Path: The Trend Path, utilizing an up arrow, down arrow or equal symbol, represents the level of recent movement of a particular threat. Up arrows represent an increase, down arrows represent a decline and the equal symbol represent no change to a threat's recent movement.

% Impact (Last 7 Days): This demonstrates a 7-day period change in the frequency of a malware threat infecting PCs. The percentage impact correlates directly to the current Trend Path to determine a rise or decline in the percentage.

Threat Level:	2/10
Infected PCs:	35

First Seen:	February 4, 2013
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

The 'Firefox need to update immediately' Fake Alert is a fraudulent update alert and social engineering-based browser attack that's used to install harmful software, usually with your consent. By disguising its payload as a browser update, 'Firefox need to update immediately' Fake Alert hopes that its victims will download and launch their programs without scanning them with appropriate anti-malware products. The latest information SpywareRemove.com malware experts have gathered suggests that current 'Firefox need to update immediately' Fake Alert attacks install the ransomware Trojan Urausy, which locks your operating system and displays a fake police alert. Rather than paying the illegal fine that Urausy suggests, it's suggested that you disable and delete 'Firefox need to update immediately' Fake Alert's payload through suitable PC security methods.

Why You Shouldn't Be Too Quick Chasing the Tail of the 'Firefox need to update immediately' Fake Alert

Although the 'Firefox need to update immediately' Fake Alert tries to look like an actual warning from Firefox and even includes a notification about vulnerabilities in whatever version of Firefox that you're using, the 'Firefox need to update immediately' Fake Alert isn't used to install a new version of Firefox. Instead, malicious sites display the 'Firefox need to update immediately' Fake Alert as a means of encouraging people to install Trojans and similar malware without suspecting that they're doing so.

SpywareRemove.com malware researchers do recommend that you keep your web browser updated at all times due to the exploitable security vulnerabilities that are present in most outdated applications – especially in light of the prominence of attacks by exploit-abusing PC threats like Blackhole Exploit Kit and Cool EK. However, you always should install said updates by navigating to that program's official site (in the case of Firefox, mozilla.org), rather than trusting random pop-ups like the 'Firefox need to update immediately' Fake Alert to have your best interests at heart.

Dealing with a 'Firefox need to update immediately' Fake Alert's Fake Update Responsibly

The 'Firefox need to update immediately' Fake Alert's 'update' may not make your PC any safer, but the 'Firefox need to update immediately' Fake Alert will install malware of various types, with the most common payloads including the ransomware Trojan identified as Urausy. Urausy operates in a manner that SpywareRemove.com malware researchers think of as being characteristic of most ransomware Trojans: by displaying a screen-sized pop-up alert and preventing you from accessing any other applications, Urausy essentially disables Windows.

The fake pop-up alert that's included in this attack will request a ransom fine in compensation for an arbitrary set of PC-based crimes that Urausy claims that you've committed – but Urausy isn't affiliated with any form of police. Likewise, Urausy can't detect any criminal activities in the first place.

If 'Firefox need to update immediately' Fake Alert payloads – like Urausy – have infected your PC, SpywareRemove.com malware experts suggest that you use standard security features (such as Safe Mode) to disable any automatically-launching malware. After your PC can be accessed without the appearance of any unusual pop-ups, you can delete the aftereffects of a 'Firefox need to update immediately' Fake Alert attack with anti-malware software of your choice.

Technical Details

Additional Information

The following messages's were detected:

#	Message
1	Firefox need to update immediately! Your version of Firefox (18.0) is vulnerable and needs to be updated. Attack pages try to install programs that steal private information, use your computer to attack others, or damage your system. Some attack pages intentionally distribute harmful software, but many are compromised without the knowledge or permission of their owners.