However, if you are one of the unlucky ones who suffered from the scam, you should still remove Windows Movie Maker from the PC. It seems that cybercriminals use it only for getting money from unsuspected computer users. Researchers haven’t detected any malicious components in the program. Scammers know how to motivate users into falling for the scam – they lie about generous 25% discount. Users, who fell for the scam and decided to obtain the license, were redirected to the payment website where people are asked to pay $29.99 for the non-existing version of the program. The alert includes “Register,” “Buy Now” and “Later” buttons.

Please buy full version for full-featured software and tech support. This is Trial Version of Windows Movie Maker. Please buy full version software to use this feature. This feature is unavailable in Trial Version. While using a fake version of the program, users receive pop-ups saying: This fact should seem suspicious because the legit version of the app was always free of charge. After the installation, users find out that they have downloaded a free trial of the program. The purpose of this malware is to convince users into buying the license of the fraudulent video editing program. The majority of victims were in the Philippines, Israel, Finland, and Denmark. According to the ESET analysis, the scam was the third most detected malware worldwide on the 5th of November 2017. However, security programs might detect this cyber threat under the Win32/Hoax.MovieMaker name. The similarity of the names might trick users into downloading the program themselves.

It has an official download website which might appear on the top of the Google search results when users enter “movie maker” keywords. Therefore, the virus spread as a fake video editing software. Once it's installed on a Windows computer, it delivers a message that states that it's a trial version of the final product and if users want full access to the app, they have to buy a license. Nonetheless, cybercriminals are spreading a fake version of this app. Windows Movie Maker is a legit video editing application developed by Microsoft.

Please don't download, install or buy this product, as it's fake video editing software and a scam

What is Windows Movie Maker virus? Windows Movie Maker virus – malware camouflaged as legitimate software

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