What is Malware?
Malware is a cover-all term which is short for malicious software. A piece of software is characterised as malware based on its intent, rather than the technology used to build it. Viruses, worms, and trojans are examples of malware, and are used by hackers to gain access to sensitive information and cause harm to businesses or individuals. Malware is often used to extract data from victims for financial gain: this data can be anything, ranging from financial data, personal information, or security information.
Malware attacks can be incredibly serious both on the individual and business level: in 2019, one ransomware (a type of malware) attack cost one firsm £45 million. Throughout the pandemic many outlets have reported a huge increase in online crime, so it’s really important to know what you should do if you are affected by malware and how to prevent attacks.
How do you know if you’ve been infected with Malware?
The most common signs of a malware infection are easy to spot, and can include a slower performance, frequent redirects from your browser (when your browser takes you to a site you didn’t intend to visit), infection warnings (often accompanied with an advert for something to fix it), problems closing down or restarting your computer or frequent pop-ups.
The more of the symptoms you experience, the more likely it is that you have a malware infection. The strongest indicators of infection are often browser redirects and pop-up warnings.
How can you protect yourself from Malware?
Although there are many ways of being infected or taken unaware by malware, there are also (almost) as many ways to protect yourself!
These can include:
- Keeping your operating systems updated, as hackers look for outdated systems
- Never clicking links in pop-up messages as these could lead to a malware attack
- Avoid clicking unknown links, whether via email, social media, or text, and double checking everything you receive to make sure it is genuine. Remember: banks and most reputable businesses will never ask for your details in their emails.
- Avoid risky or unfamiliar websites
- Stick to official app stores to prevent downloading malware alongside any applications or extensions for your phone, computer or browser
- Only ever download apps that are reputable and reviewed – if they look too good to be true, they probably are!
- Use multi-factor authentication, to make sure that your systems and accounts are as secure as possible
- Make regular personal checks on your bank accounts and credit reports, to see if there has been any unusual activity or changes
- Run regular security scans on your operating systems to detect any malware that may be present.
- Types of Malware
Malware can be categorised by how it attacks, and what it does once the computer has been hacked. As well as the methods detailed below, which concern online hacking, if hackers are able to gain access to a physical computer, they can instal malware manually.
In order to infect the victim’s computer, malicious software first has to access it. The following methods are ways in which malware can gain access to a victim’s system:
- Worms
A worm is a standalone piece of malicious software that reproduces itself and so spreads from computer to computer - Viruses
A Virus is a piece of code which inserts itself within the code of another program on a computer or system. It them forces that program to take malicious action and spread itself. - Trojans
Trojans are programs that cannot spread themselves, but masquerade as something that the user wants – hence the name Trojan. Tricking them into clicking on it, it then activates and is able to damage the host system and spread.
Once malware has successfully infiltrated the victim’s computer, there are lots of different ways malware can attack, so it’s useful to be aware of what these look like:
- Scareware
Scareware scares the victim into believing that their computer or smartphone has already been infected in order to convince them to purchase a fake or rogue application. Typical examples might be pop-up message that will warn “Your computer has been infected!” or something very similar which will point you to an application or site that purports to solve the problem. - Spyware
Spyware monitors and observes the victim’s behaviour as they use their computer, keeping an eye on the data that they send or receive. In essence, it spies on you, usually with the aim of selling that information to a third party. One type of spyware is called a ‘keylogger’, and this records all the keystrokes used by the victim, helping them steal their passwords. - Rootkit
Software that gains root access (administrator-level control) over the target system, and uses that control to hide its presence. - Adware
Adware is a form of malware that forces the victim’s browser to redirect web adverts, which often try to download further, more harmful software. Adware often uses tempting free programs like games or browser extensions to work. - Ransomware
Ransomware encrypts your hard drive’s files and demands payment, usually in bitcoin in exchange for a decryption key. Without such a key, it’s impossible to recover those files. Ransomware is the more harmful version of scareware – unlike scareware, it actually takes over the victim’s system and cannot be easily disabled. - Cryptojacking
Cryptominig software infects the victim’s computer, and uses the monitored CPU cucles to mine Bitcoin for the attacker. The mining malware may run in the background on the victim’s operating system, or even as JavaScript in a browser window. - Malvertising
Malvertising uses legitimate adverts or ad networks to deliver malware to victim’s computers without their noticing. When they click on the ad, code hidden in the advert either redirects them to a malicious website, or installs malware directly on to their computer. Sometimes, malware hidden in an advert may act without any action from the victim, which is termed as a “drive-by download”.
Malware attacks can be incredibly serious, so it’s useful to be able to identify the different methods online criminals use to gain access to victims’ phones or computers. Proactively identifying risky behaviour and avoiding it is one of the first and most important steps of protecting yourself online, for individuals as well as businesses.
