What are the threats?

What are the threats?

We always hear about online threats: hackers, viruses, malware and worms, but which ones have actually caused any damage? Here is a brief list of some viruses that have disrupted the digital world over the past few years.

Some say having your own virus is a tribute in itself, in a sort of twisted mindset. Perhaps it is, but fans of the King of Pop have been disadvantaged by their interest in his passing. An email has been circulating with the link http://MJackson.site/x-files claiming to reveal the last minutes of his death. Offering a video clip but delivering a Trojan loaded with spam, cards and even a fake update to Outlook Express this link is best left alone. If you really love the king, let him rest in peace.

This cheeky creature is a polymorphic worm capable of mutating and living in your system for a long time undetected because it feeds of normal traffic in your computer. This particular worm exploits a hole in Microsoft Windows and can connect to local networks and remove storage media. As it mutates it enhances its ability to block antivirus software updates and downloads more malware to ruin your PC.

One in a line of blackmailing viruses this Gpcode bug encrypts .DOC, .TXT, PDF, .XLS, .JPG, .PNG, .CPP with an RSA-1024 algorithm and leaves a ransom note for your desktop demanding you buy a decryptor. Experts advise high caution when dealing with content as the encryption appears difficult to break. Do not restart or power down if infected, rather contact your antivirus software provider.

This is a worm which does not itself contain a virus but a component which downloads other malware online. Infected systems send mass emails to your contacts. Upon launching the worm comes up as an error message saying “Unknown error” or “Update successfully installed”. It is also capable of blocking antivirus software and was first detected in 2006.

Similar to the Warezov this worm will spread via email but cleverly omit any .gov, .mil and Microsoft emails from its sending pattern. It also specifically targets antivirus software and firewalls. The worm started in 2007 with war motifs with attachments like video.exe or movie.exe.

Recently hackers have been keen to acquire domains which are as close as possible to legitimate antivirus software company names like McAfee or Symantec. Other slightly out of place domains like weloveusa.3322.org or iran.msntv.org can, to the speedy eye, appear safe, but are in fact fakes. Remain vigilant when opening unfamiliar links and be suspicious of add-on characters or numbers which seem unnecessary in a company’s web address. If it is a real company, it can probably afford the simplest link.