“Instagram for PC” is actually an Insta-scam

A program marketed as a PC version of photo-sharing app Instagram is actually an online survey scam, researchers warned this week.

The program, called “Instagram for PC,” bombards users with pop-up windows asking them to fill out online surveys, instead of giving them PC access to their Instagram accounts, Symantec Security Response Manager Satnam Narang said in a Tuesday blog post. It's being spread over social media channels, such as Facebook, Twitter and Google+.

There is no malware component involved. Instead, miscreants make money by driving traffic to the surveys. The pop-ups start when users click to download a “missing” .dll file or when they click a fake alert prompt that asks users to "activate" Instagram on their computer.