What are the risks of getting infected by malicious software?

Have you ever thought of what is going to happen when you are infected by a computer malware? About a decade ago, computer virus aims were to replicate themselves and destroying key operating system functions. If you got a computer malware infection at that time, most probably your operating system will be corrupted by the malware and you will need to format your hard disk to solve your problem.

Today, malicious software behaves a little different. We have more than 10 types of computer security threats such as virus, trojan, worms, spyware and many more. Each type of malware has their own speciality and here are top 3 risks of getting infected by a computer malware.

1. Having your login credentials stolen

It is very popular today that a keylogger/keystroke logging is used to log a victim’s login credentials. Once the keylogger has a set of your username and password, they can login into the account and do almost everything unless your account is protected by a two factor authentication.

2. Losing hard disk space

Hard disk space today can be very cheap but we should not waste it on storing malicious software. Malware such as worms will replicate in your operating system and take up your hard disk space. You will not feel the burden at the beginning but as the process gets longer, you will start to feel the pain of having insufficient disk space.

3. Spending money on unnecessary stuff

There is also a type of malware where they scare you off by telling you that your computer has hundreds of infections which you actually don’t have. Upon scaring you, they urge you to purchase a bogus antivirus which claims that can clean all the mentioned infections. All in all, you end up actually paying for nothing.

4. Being part of a minion for DDoS attack

Have you ever thought of how DDoS can bring thousands to millions of traffic to a server? It is actually all the computers which are infected with some sort of trojan that explains how the attacker can have such massive amount of traffic. By getting a malware infection, you are at risk of becoming part of this big project which you do not want to be.

5. Losing your privacy

Another form of malware which is known as spyware is built to spy your daily activities. By knowing your daily activities, the attacker will be able to understand you better before attacking you. For instance, if you regularly surf to adult sites, the attacker will probably start off with some fake adult material to lure you into their trap.

Looking at someones internet usageBack to you now, are you able to take all the risks mentioned? If you are not, be sure you have a good habit when it comes to internet and computer security and always remember that having an antivirus and firewall is not sufficient for a good security.

11 thoughts on “What are the risks of getting infected by malicious software?

  1. I generally don’t use any free software unless I’m 100% sure about their credibility. As you never know which software is malicious and is passing out your credible information and leaking your privacy.

        • Christopher (admin team)

          Basically open source means that anyone can add their input to improve the project. Firefox is open sources, meaning that people from all around the world help to develop the software, it is not one big organisation, anyone can chip in.

          Anything with Mozilla attached to it is open source, and other things like add-ons and extensions for browsers are too.

          Hope this helps Aasma 🙂
          Christopher – Technology Bloggers Admin Team

          • In addition to that, open source means the source code of the application is open for download. If you are some programmer, you can actually download the source, compile and customize the application to suit your needs.

            Depending on the open source license, some requires you to contribute back to the community.

            Basically, open source is not really a big organization like what Christopher said. It can be only one programmer to start a OSS, but many community programmers to back him up 😉

    • Shane, you are not the only one. I had been using free software as well but only download from reliable source and do a quick antivirus scan before using it. What about you?

  2. There are definitely a multitude of threats out there on the internet today. Surfing without an antivirus software is very risky. Of course, even with an antivirus software, it is up to the user to be careful too. I always tell my less computer savvy friends and relatives to avoid clicking on flashy ads or links on websites as well as ignore suspicious e-mails.

    -Jean

  3. Remember folks, anti-virus is only part of your defence. Common sense plays a big part too.

    If someone (a stranger) calls you to say they are from some big company (example, Microsoft) and they notice your PC has a virus….can you just visit this website, install some software and I will take over your PC…..

    Think about it — if an unknown called you and asked your bank account number, would you give it — doubt it….PCs are just the same.

    If an unknown person emails you asking you to open a file….don’t! Or wants to share some money with you…!!!

    Common sense, and questioning things, will help save you too.

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