Most of us are not keeping malware in our list of issues to be overly concerned about yet this oversight may cost us dearly in the near future.

According to Wikipedia:

“Malware (a portmanteau for malicious software) is any software intentionally designed to cause disruption to a computer, server, client, or computer network, leak private information, gain unauthorized access to information or systems, deprive users access to information or which unknowingly interferes with the user’s computer security and privacy.”

To give you an idea of the situation we simply have to look at the latest trend where Cybersecurity experts discovered a new technique for storing malware on an unsuspecting PC. Used by hackers, it involves slipping malware inside of Windows 11 event logs. To make matters worse, this new technique is designed to make the infection process nearly impossible to detect until it’s too late.

There are telltale signs that your computer may be infected with malware, these include:

  1. Computer is noticeably slow and/or crashes.

    Computer crash is a term used to describe when an operating system or a software application abruptly stops functioning and then exits.

  2. Random computer programs running in the background
  3. Displays repetitious error messages.
  4. Subtle appearance changes on your browser homepage.
  5. Pop-up ads occur more frequently and persistently.
  6. Computer operating systems such as Windows may not open at all
  7. Inability to connect to the internet.
  8. Inability to access higher-level system control functions.
  9. A laptop or mobile device battery that quickly drains.

According to pcgamer.com the best way to defend yourself against attacks continues to be:

  • Follow your Company’s cybersecurity guidelines,
  • Never click on suspicious links in emails and texts,
  • Verify what you are downloading and where it is from before opening any files or folders.

Of course, if in doubt, ask before taking any action.

For more information about malware and safeguards visit: https://epicompliance.com/resource-center.

References:

1 https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2021/01/15/health-insurer-pays-5-1-million-settle-data-breach.html

2 https://www.nist.gov/system/files/documents/itl/BITS-Malware-Report-Jun2011.pdf

https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/publications/Malware_1.pdf

https://usa.kaspersky.com/resource-center/threats/computer-viruses-and-malware-facts-and-faqs

https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0011-malware

https://us.norton.com/internetsecurity-malware-what-is-a-rootkit-and-how-to-stop-them.html

https://www.kaspersky.com/resource-center/definitions/keylogger