US shuts down 'scareware' sellersBuy now button, SPL
Millions of people have paid money for the fake security products
The US government has moved to shut down sellers of fake security software.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has won a restraining order that stops several sellers of "scareware" from continuing to trade.
Millions of people are thought to have been caught out by the software which, once installed, issues false alerts about viruses and illegal porn.
The FTC is pursuing further legal action to win a permanent ban on those peddling the scareware.
Frozen funds
Court papers submitted by the FTC show that the peddlers of the fake security software tricked websites into advertising their products.
The companies behind the fake security software won customers via adverts on many popular websites.
Anyone clicking on an advert was taken to the webpages run by the fake security firms which then ran a "scan" looking for security problems.
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