How do our computers get malware? Malware—or more accurately, the individuals or organizations behind it—is constantly looking for those computer users who have their guard down just long enough to get tricked into downloading malware. Attackers can’t be too obvious, so they make it tempting...
Microsoft Office includes a powerful scripting language that allows developers to create advanced tools to help you be more productive. Unfortunately, criminals can also use that scripting language to create malicious scripts that install malware or do other bad things. If you open an Office file an...
It’s no secret that hackers are always looking for new ways to infect computers with malware. You may be wondering how hackers are able to infect your computer with malware. It can be a scary thought, especially if you don’t know much about computers. Stay malware-free with reliable ant...
consider disconnecting from the internet so that the malware can't communicate with a remote server to further infect your computer. Just make sure that if you do this, to first download and update anything related to the antivirus program, and then disconnect only during the duration of the ...
Let it remove the virus or other malware for you. It’s worth noting that those issues may also stem from non-viral causes, such as an overflowing downloads folder or a full cache. Computers can fill up with junk faster than you think, and this sort of digital hoarding can result in ...
The varioustypes of malware attacksthat have long been a problem for desktop computers, such as ransomware and spyware, can occur on smartphones as well. There are also mobile-specific attack vectors, such asSMS phishing, which targets victims through SMS text messages. To avoid the damage tha...
Malware began in the 1980s with programs like the Brain boot-sector virus in 1986 and the Internet-distributed Morris worm in 1988. These viruses were designed mostly to create havoc for users. People who used infected computers might see mocking messages or strange visual effects. ...
Malware, short for "malicious software," refers to a type of computer program designed to infect a legitimate user's computer and inflict harm on it in multiple ways. Malware can infect computers and devices in several ways and comes in a number of forms
When was the first malware created? In 1969 BBN Technologies’ programmer Bob Thomas created the first virus named Creeper. The virus was a self-replicating worm that infected DEC’s PDP-10 and spreaded itself to computers on the ARPANET (the US Department of Defense’s prototype of the Inter...
A botnet isn’t a type of malware, but a network of computers or computer code that carry out or execute malware. Attackers infect a group of computers with malicious software known as “bots,” which receive commands from their controller. Computers connected in a botnet form a network, pro...