Cybersecurity has become an important issue nowadays. It seems that every single year brings new online threats making it more and more difficult to keep your system safe and protected. And 2014 is no different. Here are some of the biggest virtual threats that any security minded computer user should be aware of.
1. Mobile malware
It was not that long ago that malicious programs were attacking PC users exclusively. That, however, has certainly changed. Mobile phones have become one of the main malware targets. In the last year malware in mobile devices has grown by 33% . It is more than likely that it will continue to grow in 2014. This is especially concerning since malicious programs are capable of not only infecting your device and causing various system malfunctions, but they may also steal your personal data. Moreover, if your smartphone gets infected it will spread the malware to other devices as well. You should be careful with various free applications that you can download online and stick to official and trustworthy websites.
2. Social attacks
The number of infected devices is growing not just because malware can target mobile phones and tablets, but also because it finds new distribution methods. It is well-known that you can get infected by downloading a malignant e-mail attachment, clicking on an unsafe link, entering a corrupted website or downloading files from unreliable sources. Now we can add social networking websites to that list. Social platforms could be used to steal your private data such as logins, passwords and much more. You should pay special attention to requests to change your password and do it only if you are sure it is not a scam. Moreover, you should always remember that information is power. Rethinking what you post and share on your page could save you from becoming a victim of social engineering.
3. Virtual currencies
Ransomware is yet another scam that is becoming more and more popular. There are a couple of reasons for that as well. First of all, as it has already been mentioned, cyber criminals can attack mobile devices and tablets same way they are attacking personal computers. Secondly, with the introduction of online currencies like Bitcoins it has become more difficult to track the hackers responsible for the infection. Ransomware programs restrict access to your system and demand you pay a fee in order to unlock it. The notification that you see may even claim that it comes from a government facility. None of it is true, of course, as it is just a scam created to make easy profit. The only solution to this problem is using a reliable anti-malware tool as paying the cyber criminals will not do you any good.
As you can see, cybersecurity threats are changing and evolving as time goes by. If you want to keep your system safe you should be aware of the new tricks used by cyber criminals and do everything you can to avoid malware infections and other virtual scams. More information about various computer threats you could find at removevirus-now.com database.
