Avoiding Malware and Spyware: Drive by Exploits
Keeping your computer clean from spyware and malware is getting increasingly difficult. The net is simply overflowing with these programs and for the casual surfer without much knowledge of the issue, getting infected without even knowing is beyond commonplace.
Why is it a problem to get infected with these programs? Well, you will notice that for many, one of the first steps in how to speed up their computer, is getting rid of them. They also track your actions, collect data, selling it without your approval. Plus they can do damage to your system, for example causing you to lose work you have done on the computer.
But what are some essential things to know about internet security? What do people do wrong? Well, for example, some people browse the web using an old web browser, as for example internet explorer 6, and no anti virus or anti spyware program. This is a very risky combination since internet explorer 6 is highly vulnerable to all kinds of programs with malicious intent and in the absence of anti virus protection you could easily become a victim of what is referred to as a ‘drive by’ web exploit.
What exactly is drive by exploits? It is when people with little conscience setup a malicious website that will attempt to automatically install malware or spyware on a user’s computer, once he or she visits the site. The visitor is often lured to the site by links in emails or other black hat advertising techniques, where the user is led to believe that the site contains something of actual value.
Often drive by exploits are ’0-day’, a term used when the method has been discovered only recently and therefore there will not be any kind of fix for them yet. The result is that the ‘success rate’ of infection tends to be high.
Unless you have quality anti virus installed, that manages to detect what is going on, you will not even realize what is happening and the malware will be installed onto your computer.
How is this information useful? It highlights the point that it is important to always use a up to date browser and up to date anti virus. It is also very helpful to use malware and spyware scanning tools. Have the programs do weekly scans of your entire system.
No anti virus, anti malware, or anti spyware software will ever offer 100% protection, as new malware is constantly being created and it will take some time for anti virus programmers to locate these and include them in their detection lists.
It therefore stands to reason that having all the right programs installed is mo substitute to exercising caution while online. Don’t click suspicious links, don’t visit dodgy sites, and always be careful with what your downloading!
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