EVERYTHING ABOUT VIRUSES

Myths and Reality

There are many common myths about computer viruses:

All computer error messages indicate a virus infection. That is false; error messages can also indicate a hardware failure or software errors.

Viruses and worms always require user intervention. False. Code must be executed for a virus to infect a computer, but it does not require user intervention. For example, a network worm can automatically infect if a user's computer has certain vulnerabilities.

Email attachments from known senders are safe. This is not true, because they may have been infected by a virus and used to spread the infection. Even if you know the sender, don't open anything that raises questions.

Antivirus programs stop all threats. It’s important to detect malware and many best antivirus software works in detecting the malware before they affect your device. Even then, 100% security is not guaranteed. Therefore, it is important that you use common sense on the Internet to reduce your exposure to attacks.

Viruses can inflict physical damage on your computer. What happens if the malicious code causes the computer to overheat or destroys critical microchips? Antivirus software vendors have disproved this myth several times; this kind of damage is simply impossible.

However, the rise of interconnected devices on the Internet of Things (IoT) raises other interesting possibilities: what happens if an infected car runs off the road or an infected "smart" oven is forced to maximum temperature until overload? The future of malware can make this type of physical damage a reality.

People have various misconceptions about malware, such as assuming that an infection is obvious. Often times, users believe that they will find out if their computer is infected. However, malware generally leaves no trace and your system shows no sign of infection.

Also, don't think that all reputable websites are safe. If hackers are able to compromise legitimate websites with infected code, users are more likely to download files or provide their personal information. In this sense, many users believe that their personal data (photos, documents and files) have no value whatsoever for malware creators. Cybercriminals extract publicly available data to choose their victims and gather information that allows them to create spear-phishing emails to infiltrate organizations.

Common Infection Methods

So how do computer viruses or malware infect your computer? There are several common ways. These include clicking links to malicious sites in email or social media messages, visiting an infected website (known as a hidden download), and inserting an infected USB drive into your computer. Operating system and application vulnerabilities make it easy for cybercriminals to install malware on computers. Therefore, it is essential that you install antivirus with all its updates as soon as they are available to reduce your exposure.

Cybercriminals often use social engineering to trick you into doing something that puts your safety or that of the company you work for at risk. One of the most common methods are phishing emails. You receive an email that appears legitimate and convinces you to download an infected file or visit a malicious website. In that case, the goal of the hackers is to create something that you find convincing, such as a suspected virus warning, a notification from your bank, or a message from an old friend.

Sensitive data, such as passwords, is a key target for cybercriminals. In addition to using malware to capture passwords as you type those, cybercriminals also collect passwords from websites and other computers that they have managed to infect. This is why it is so important that you use a unique and complex password for each online account. Specifically, passwords must be 15 characters long or more and include letters, numbers, and special characters. This way, if one account is compromised, cybercriminals won't be able to access the rest of your accounts online. And of course, if you use easy-to-guess passwords, cybercriminals will have no need to compromise your computer or the website of an online provider. Unfortunately, most of the users use very insecure passwords. Instead of using strong and hard-to-guess passwords, they use simple options like “123456” or “Password123”, which attackers can easily guess. Even safety questions may not be an effective barrier, as many people provide the same answer: if the question is "What is your favorite food?" and you live in the United States, the common answer is "Pizza."

Signs That You Are a Victim of an Infection

Although most types of malware do not show telltale signs and do not affect the normal functioning of the computer, sometimes there are signs that help determine that you were infected. The main one is lower performance, which is manifested in slowing down processes, windows that take longer than usual to load, and apparently random programs running in the background. You may also notice that the internet home pages have changed in the browser or that pop-up ads appear more frequently than usual. Malware affects all the common functions of the computers and not easily connect to the internet. If you suspect that your computer may be infected, immediately scan the system. If you don't discover anything but still have doubts, ask for a second opinion: run an alternative virus scan program.