Active computer viruses

While the Y2K bug was relatively harmless, some software bugs can pose a serious threat to consumers. Cybercriminals can take advantage of bugs in order to gain unauthorized access to a system for the purposes of dropping malware, stealing private information, or opening up a backdoor. This is known as an exploit. Preventing computer viruses from infecting your computer starts with situational awareness. By staying on the lookout for phishing attacks and avoiding suspicious links and attachments, consumers can largely avoid most malware threats.

Regarding email attachments and embedded links, even if the sender is someone you know: viruses have been known to hijack Outlook contact lists on infected computers and send virus laden attachments to friends, family and coworkers, the Melissa virus being a perfect example.

A simple call or text message can save you a lot of trouble. Next, invest in good cybersecurity software. Antivirus AV refers to early forms of cybersecurity software focused on stopping computer viruses. Just viruses. Given a choice between traditional AV with limited threat detection technology and modern anti-malware with all the bells and whistles, invest in anti-malware and rest easy at night.

As mentioned previously in this piece, traditional AV solutions rely on signature-based detection. AV scans your computer and compares each and every file against a database of known viruses that functions a lot like a criminal database. Going back to our virus analogy one final time—removing a virus from your body requires a healthy immune system.

Same for your computer. A good anti-malware program is like having a healthy immune system. The free version of Malwarebytes is a good place to start if you know or suspect your computer has a virus. Available for Windows and Mac, the free version of Malwarebytes will scan for malware infections and clean them up after the fact. Get a free premium trial of Malwarebytes for Windows or Malwarebytes for Mac to stop infections before they start. You can also try our Android and iOS apps free to protect your smartphones and tablets.

All the tactics and techniques employed by cybercriminals creating modern malware were first seen in early viruses. Things like Trojans, ransomware, and polymorphic code. These all came from early computer viruses. To understand the threat landscape of today, we need to peer back through time and look at the viruses of yesteryear.

Other notable firsts—Elk Cloner was the first virus to spread via detachable storage media it wrote itself to any floppy disk inserted into the computer. But a Scientific American article let the virus out of the lab. In the piece, author and computer scientist A. Dewdney shared the details of an exciting new computer game of his creation called Core War. In the game, computer programs vie for control of a virtual computer. The game was essentially a battle arena where computer programmers could pit their viral creations against each other.

For two dollars Dewdney would send detailed instructions for setting up your own Core War battles within the confines of a virtual computer. What would happen if a battle program was taken out of the virtual computer and placed on a real computer system?

In a follow-up article for Scientific American, Dewdney shared a letter from two Italian readers who were inspired by their experience with Core War to create a real virus on the Apple II. The brainchild of Pakistani brothers and software engineers, Basit and Amjad Farooq, Brain acted like an early form of copyright protection, stopping people from pirating their heart monitoring software. Other than guilt tripping victims in to paying for their pirated software, Brain had no harmful effects.

BHP also has the distinction of being the first stealth virus; that is, a virus that avoids detection by hiding the changes it makes to a target system and its files. The cover image depicted viruses as cute, googly eyed cartoon insects crawling all over a desktop computer. Up to this point, computer viruses were relatively harmless. Yes, they were annoying, but not destructive. So how did computer viruses go from nuisance threat to system destroying plague?

The MacMag virus caused infected Macs to display an onscreen message on March 2, The infected Freehand was then copied and shipped to several thousand customers, making MacMag the first virus spread via legitimate commercial software product. The Morris worm knocked out more than 6, computers as it spread across the ARPANET , a government operated early version of the Internet restricted to schools and military installations.

The Morris worm was the first known use of a dictionary attack. As the name suggests, a dictionary attack involves taking a list of words and using it to try and guess the username and password combination of a target system. Robert Morris was the first person charged under the newly enacted Computer Fraud and Abuse Act , which made it illegal to mess with government and financial systems, and any computer that contributes to US commerce and communications.

In his defense, Morris never intended his namesake worm to cause so much damage. The malicious computer virus targets cryptocurrency apps, known banks like Bank of America, Bank of Scotland, etc. Not only this, but Sim swapping attacks are also skyrocketing this Due to clever social engineering, bad actors gain access to the SIM card of the victim and trick the mobile carrier to think it is the real customer that is using the device.

With the increase in the number of AI devices, hackers are also being inclined towards it. For instance: The malicious computer virus is smart enough to figure out its way to target your devices.

AI-enabled attacks have the potential to bypass almost all kinds of authentication methods and remain undetected. With time hackers are becoming technologically advanced, therefore to stay protected from a virus you need to maintain good digital hygiene. And organizations should start operating with AI-enabled defenses to counter AI-enabled attacks.

In recent years, IoT has gained popularity for its ease of use but at the same time, for its lack of built-in firewalls, it is surrounded by controversies. Most IoT devices fail to provide options to change the default username, thereby making devices an easy target for hackers.

A successful execution led to remote code execution, allowing bad actors to take complete access to devices. Due to this Therefore, if you have any plans to invest in an IoT device we suggest looking for safety measures.

Almost common security threats for IoT devices involve hijacking, leaks, home intrusions, etc. When exploited by the attacker these four remote codes and one denial service will allow threat actors to take full control over all the Cisco devices. For instance: These vulnerabilities are named as CVE is a stack overflow vulnerability, CVE is a format string vulnerability, CVE is a stack overflow vulnerability in the parsing function, CVE is a heap overflow vulnerability in the Cisco series IP camera, and CVE the denial-of-service vulnerability.

Gameover is the latest computer virus in the Zeus Family. The malicious threat targets your device in a way to effortlessly access your bank account details and steals all your money. It simply creates its standalone server and accesses sensitive and confidential details of victims. This is why it is called AIDS. BAT used to count the number of times a computer is booted. In , a variant of this ransomware known as Cyborg was found in a fake Windows 10 November update.

For instance: Bad actors deploy a mix of bots and fraud farms to successfully pull off cyborg attacks. Well, this is another prominent security threat that you should be aware of in For instance: Fleeceware is certainly tricky since no malicious code is hidden in apps. Rather, Fleeceware simply hinges on apps that are as advertised with a free trial period but instead comes with hidden subscription fees. They even charge you after the app is uninstalled!

So, these are some of the most dangerous of all the computer viruses. Attackers design them to steal confidential data hence it is important to know how to deal with these everyday latest computer viruses, cyber threat landscape, trojan horses, worms, and malware. Now, that we know about popular computer viruses.

With pandemic challenging our lifestyles and an increase in our dependence on the digital world, vulnerability to malware. FAQ 2 What are the worst computer viruses? It started as a spam mail, and since then, it has spread all over the world. This virus turned out to be one of the worst computer viruses, and it is making rounds once again in FAQ 3 What is the best antivirus program? While selecting the best antivirus program for your computer, make sure it provides all safety measures.

The best antivirus software must have an updated database to detect the latest computer virus. It should be able to scan the system thoroughly regularly. FAQ 4 What is the latest computer virus going around ? Conclusion: So, this was all folks! The above list is not the end of the latest and most dangerous computer viruses. With each passing day they will evolve with more severity.

Therefore, it is important that you follow all the necessary web practices and preventions to stay safe and secure. And in case you find some loophole, make sure you report it to your service provider as soon as possible.

We will keep updating this post to keep you aware of the deadliest computer viruses and how smart attackers are becoming in designing these cyber threats.

So stay connected and keep reading the post from time to time. If you found this helpful, please let us know. You can also drop your feedback in the comment section below. Scarab Ransomware Targets E-mail Accounts. Best Tips to Stay Protected Online. In essence, you cannot trace your stolen data. People without the knowledge to carry out a sophisticated ransomware attack can pay to hire a professional hacker or team of hackers to perform the attack for them.

The growth of the underground RaaS industry is worrying, as it shows how easy it is to infect people with ransomware despite the bad actors having no previous experience with designing or coding malware. Hackers send out emails that are disguised as legitimate information about the outbreak. Readers are prompted to click a link to learn more about the information, but the link contains malware that copies the files on your device and steals your personal information. Research currently focuses on the spread of this malware in Japan.

Still, it will become an issue worldwide during any kind of newsworthy outbreak. Fleeceware continues to charge app users large amounts of money despite users deleting those apps. As the popularity of IoT Internet of Things devices grows in — things like smart speakers and video doorbells — hackers are looking to exploit these devices for valuable information. There are multiple reasons why hackers choose to target IoT devices.

These devices often contain easy-to-access data such as passwords and usernames, which then can be used by hackers to log into user accounts and steal valuable information, such as banking details. Hackers can also use internet-based cameras and mics to spy on and communicate with people — including young children via smart baby monitors. Humans are possibly the weakest link in any security protocol. This is why cybercriminals are now turning to human psychology and deception to try and gain access to personal information.

The hacker will start by contacting a company or service provider and pretend to be a specific person. Instead, all the attacker needs is to be convincing and allow human error and complacency to reward them with the data they need. Although cryptojacking attacks dropped significantly in previous years — mainly due to the sharp fall in the value of cryptocurrencies, this trend remains a threat.

Given the value of cryptocurrency, cryptojacking malware attacks will continue to be lucrative for cybercriminals. As more tools become available to developers who want to program AI scripts and software, hackers will be able to use this same technology to carry out devastating cyberattacks.