IS USING INTERNET SAFE?

Although we have a good antivirus installed on our computer and we pay all the attention in the world to avoid falling into the clutches of viruses, there is always a certain probability of ending up infected by this type of software. There are viruses so subtle, and with such advanced techniques, that neither we are able to recognize them nor antivirus to detect them. At least until it's too late. What is usually common is that, in a short time, our PC begins to malfunction. And that's when we start to suspect that we have a virus.
The signs of the viruses from before were very clear. For
example, some opened and closed the CD reader, others made a ball appear
bouncing across the screen, and others directly erased all the information on
the hard drive and that's it. That when they did not force to write in a sector
and they literally burned the hard disk.
However, now things have changed and viruses can become so
subtle that it can take weeks or months for the slightest indication that our
computer has a virus appears.
For this reason, either by carrying out a regular
maintenance of the computer or by suspecting that we may be infected by
malware, below we explain how to carry out a complete diagnosis of the PC to
detect any possible unwanted threat.
Suspicions
That My Computer Has A Virus
Depending on the type of virus, our computer may act in one
way or another. It may not even do anything weird and it is much more difficult
to suspect that we are infected.
Adware
and Spyware
The adware and spyware are viruses designed to generate
income for the hackers at the expense of our data and our personal information.
Adware, on the one hand, focuses on displaying advertising all over the
computer, as well as within the web browser, while spyware seeks to collect
personal data (passwords, bank details, and everything else) and sends it
remotely to the hacker. IT.
The main signs that our computer is infected by this type
of malicious software are:
A lot of advertising appears on our computer. When we have
the browser closed, banners appear on the desktop. And when we surf the
Internet, the websites show many more ads and windows than normal.
Unknown extensions and task bars appear in the web browser.
Our firewall warns us that some unknown program wants to
connect to the Internet.
Some browser features (such as automatic updates) are
disabled.
We cannot enter the antivirus web pages.
We get more junk mail than usual.
The web browser opens without permission and loads webs
randomly.
Fake
antivirus, fake technical support or "rogueware"
Surely we have ever seen fake antivirus or fake tech
support apps. These applications try to pretend to be an antivirus or a program
to fix errors on our computer and tell us, lying, that we have hundreds or
thousands of viruses or errors on our PC. When we try to solve them, it asks us
to pay a license or enter our bank details. Everything, in the end, ends up in
the hands of hackers.
One version of this type of threat is fake technical
support. These generally arrive through malicious web pages created to deceive
their visitors. These websites say that viruses or errors have been detected on
our computer and ask us to call Microsoft technical support to solve the
problem. During the call they will offer us remote control, install a program (a
Trojan) and ask to make a transfer or pay money to correct the problem. These
fake websites may even block our computer by putting the CPU at 100%, preventing
us from closing them.
The signs that show an infection with this type of malware
are:
· Messages
appear telling us that we have thousands of viruses and errors on our PC.
· Our
computer speaks suddenly. The websites usually have phrases that warn us of the
problem.
· The
computer starts to run slow.
· There
are applications that try to access the Internet without permission.
· The
computer crashes or restarts frequently.
· Opening
programs like Google Chrome or watching videos becomes much slower, and with
problems.
· Many
programs cannot be opened. Especially those related to security.
· Antivirus and firewall
disappear or are disabled.
Trojans
The Trojans with wider type of malware. A Trojan can do
almost anything on your PC. The most common are RATs, those that seek to allow
the hacker to connect remotely to our computer. When this malware infects us,
the hacker has full control over our computer and can download files, steal
passwords and bank details, and even install other viruses on the PC.
There are also other types of Trojans depending on the
purpose of the hackers:
Backdoor: to enable back doors through which to communicate
remotely with our PC.
Exploits: to exploit flaws and vulnerabilities in our
computer.
Banking: exclusively focused on collecting and stealing
bank details.
Rootkit: focuses on creating persistence. Sometimes it even
takes the malware into the PC's BIOS.
Downloader: used to update the Trojan, send new versions
and add-ons. The "dropper" variant is responsible for downloading
other types of viruses and Trojans on our computer.
Normally, a Trojan usually has a specific function with a
module that allows hackers, once the computer has been infected, to add functions
to it through "plugins".
The symptoms that our computer has a Trojan are:
· Our
computer crashes or does strange things.
· Some
programs run without permission.
· The
computer is slow or takes a long time to start.
· Strange
applications and services try to connect to the Internet.
· Some
apps don't work. For example, Internet Explorer.
· We get
too much junk mail. Or emails with logins on websites where we have not
entered.
· The
hard drive is constantly working.
· Not
many web pages work.
· Some
personal files disappear, or are modified.
· Antivirus
and firewall disappear. And they cannot be run or installed again.
· Ransomware
or extortion software
The ransomware is the most dangerous malware that can be
found today. Normally this type of malware is usually undetectable by most
antivirus and, when we realize that we are infected, it is too late.
The ransomware was born from the police virus. What this
virus did was show us a screen in which they indicated that we had been caught
doing illegal things on the Internet and asked us to pay a fine. All false. But
it was just a screen that blocked our computer, but no files or anything was deleted.
However, today's ransomware acts differently. When they
reach the computer, what they do is encrypt all of our personal data so that we
cannot access it. We lose them completely. It also asks us to pay a ransom, in
Bitcoin, which allows us to recover the private key to decrypt the data and
recover it. Of course, it doesn't always work, and sometimes we lose money as
well as data.
Signs of a ransomware infection are:
· Our
personal files have disappeared.
· New
files appear with strange names and extensions.
· Text
files appear on the desktop and in folders with instructions for recovering
data.
· The
computer is locked with a screen with instructions to pay and unlock it.
· A
program tries to connect to the Internet, or download other components from the
network.
How To Check Your Computer For A Virus?
If we experience any of the signs that we have seen in the
previous points, we almost certainly have a virus. And since viruses today are
very difficult to detect with the naked eye, we just have to trust our
instincts.
If we have an antivirus installed,
either Windows Defender or a good reliable antivirus, and the virus has not
blocked it, we can use it to scan our computer for viruses. A complete scan of
the PC will help us find the virus. Or if not, at least other signs that we are
infected (such as other secondary viruses used by a Trojan).
Comments
Post a Comment