Many of you have probably seen the corny TV commercials for FinallyFast.com, which claims that going to their site and installing a single download will take care of all of your computer problems. Finally Fast, by Ascentive Software, is just one example of hundreds, if not thousands, of fake computer repair programs popping up around the internet. Ads for these programs will pop up on your computer screen while you surf the web, and many of them will look like legitimate virus or spyware warning screens. Once you click on them and install their "repair" program, it's all over... you've just given your computer a good shot of spyware cancer!

If you're browsing the internet, and suddenly you see an ad that tells you that your computer is infected, ignore it! Do not risk infecting your computer! Instead, you should contact a computer repair person like myself to scan and clean your computer, and check out your Windows Registry, to be sure it is not really infected! You will see many of these fake repair utilities make claims like these...

Is your PC or laptop running slow?
Is your computer freezing or crashing?
Do you receive mysterious error messages?
Are you plagued by blank screens?
Are you getting unwanted pop-ups?
Do you get 'Unable to load' .dll errors?
Don't wait! Download [this program] For 100% Free Scan!

You MUST be careful when surfing the internet! Clicking on anything that offers a "100% free scan" is a hoax indeed, and you'll end up hiring someone like me for a few hours to remove this fake garbage from your computer!

One unfortunate user of FinallyFast.com reported the following: "Watch out! These crooks have spun a consumer trap of hidden costs they don't divulge when ordering! I fell prey and had to cancel my card to get the billing to stop. My credit card company is filing a fraud dispute against them to try and recoup my losses. As well, they retain your personal info and spam your desktop and email account with unwanted junk. Save yourself the headache and don't bother or read all the very fine print and be prepared to fight."

Another user commented on the low-grade FinallyFast.com commercials: "Anyone else find it a little strange that 2 out of the 3 PC’s used by the ‘annoyed’ PC users are an iMac and a MacBook? I just found that pretty hilarious. The acting is horendous as usual, but it just irks me to see the MacBook running Windows XP and the person using it having trouble ‘checking her email’." Someone else also noted the Macs running Windows in the commercials, and wrote about it in their blog at http://blogs.creativecow.net/node/550 .

FinallyFast is just one of their programs. PCScan and Sweep are a part of Ascentive Software, as well as Spyware Striker Pro, which is on Spyware Warrior's Rogue List. In previous articles, and for all of my customers, I normally recommend that people use SpyBot Search And Destroy from http://www.safer-networking.org/ . I've also highly recommended people to use AVG Free Antivirus from http://free.avg.com/ instead of Norton and McAfee, because both Norton and McAfee seriously slow down your computer's performace. Both Spybot and AVG are very effective at removing garbage like FinallyFast.

FinallyFast is not the only bad guy to look out for. RegCure is another classic piece of junk that I came across at PC-Faster.com, which also installs spyware and fake warnings on your computer. But the most notorious of all of these fake tools is AntiVirus 2008. The makers change the name every so often, it used to be WinAntiVirus 2007, WinAntiVirusPro, etc. It's also been called VirusBurst, it's a re-branded variant of other well-known rogue anti-spyware programs, including SpywareQuake, SpyFalcon, SpywareStrike, SpySheriff, SpyHeal and many other pseudonyms. A few of my customers saw the fake virus warning ads from these products, they clicked, downloaded, and installed them, and in a couple of cases even paid for them, and they completely trashed their computers!

In closing, before you go to install ANY so-called easy repair, scan, or cleanup program, consult a pro like me to make sure that it's legitimate! In fact, before downloading and installing any "easy computer fix" program, you should first look at legitimate sites like http://www.spywarewarrior.com/ and http://www.siteadvisor.com/ which can tell you which programs and sites are frauds. Do not simply install these products! Also, do not click on ads, some of which look like real virus or spyware warning windows, simply close them, if you cannot close them then reboot the computer! Clicking them means you'll install them, and you will suffer the consequences! As always, I tell all of my customers that you should have someone like me come and do a thorough cleaning of your computer at least once a year.