Common attacks to your computer

Technicon Ng
4 min readSep 12, 2022

As the world is in transition, a lot of businesses have moved their operations online. Owing to this fact, it is necessary to have a knowledge of business security: what this simply means is finding a way to secure business assets stored on a network. Think of an attack on the computer as “Malware”, it is coined from the word Malicious Software.
Basically the malware is an intrusive and unwanted program designed to infiltrate a system and cause damages to files on the device and the network. It attacks the brain box of a system and wreaks havoc to the system. Some might be wondering how anyone can gain
access to their PC without having to be in their vicinity or with credentials that only they know. Well, the short answer is Technology. Attackers utilize malware to take information and data, spy on clients, hold
gadgets prisoners, harm records and so much more.

These are common Cyber Attacks that one could be a victim of:

  1. Virus: A computer virus is a program written by a programmer to introduce bugs into a specified file in order to cause damages to the devices and network. A computer virus infects devices and replicates itself across systems. Viruses require human intervention to propagate.
    For example, you have an infected Flash drive without knowing it has a virus, inserting it into your PC can open to door to unknown viruses. Viruses can modify computer functions and applications; copy, delete and steal data; encrypt data to perform ransomware attacks and also carry out DDoS attacks. These new terms will be explained in detail in the later parts of this article.
  2. Ransomware: Ransomware is a major type of malware that taints target devices, locks or encrypts files and programs to prevent them from being used, these actions allow the owners of the ransomware to demand a ransom from you in return for their release. These ransoms are usually paid through an untraceable account like Bitcoin. A malicious link within an email is the most common vector for ransomware. A message may show up to be from a trusted source; in any case, clicking the hyperlink leads you to a location that downloads the assault bundle. Ransomware variants include REvil, WannaCry and DarkSide.
  3. Spyware: Spyware is a malware that downloads onto a device without the user’s consent. It steals users’ data to sell to advertisers and external users. It can track qualifications and get bank subtle details and other delicate information. It contaminates gadgets through malicious apps, links, websites and email attachments. This malware tracks user’s location, access to camera and microphone via means undetected by the user. This malware can also be used for Mobile attacks so it’s safer to not click on all links without first verifying the source, unlike on a desktop monitor, mobile devices do not have the Hover effect to see details of the hyperlink. Adware,
    keyloggers, Trojans and mobile spyware are forms of spyware.
  4. DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service): It is one of the most common types of cyberattacks. DDoS takes place when hackers bombard an organization’s servers with a huge volume of concurrent information demands, subsequently making the servers incapable to
    handle any genuine demands. A DDoS attack endeavors to devour the target’s resources so that it cannot provide normal service. DDoS attacks are designed to take an online resource offline by flooding it with so much activity that it crashes or starts lagging.
    Cybercriminals might carry out DDoS attacks because they want to gain access to information stored on a machine or website or to disrupt the activities of the person or organization responsible for running the targeted resource. In the event that you’re capable
    for overseeing websites or machines that store vital information, attempt utilizing
    administrations like Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) and Amazon Web Services (AWS) to
    protect your resources against DDoS attacks.
  5. Phishing: one of the most common malware attacks on a computer system through the Mail. It usually is mail that contains malwares and upon opening, they cause damages to the computer. Attackers can successfully pull off a phishing attack by sending emails that show
    up to be genuine but are really outlined to control the beneficiary into giving touchy data, clicking on a pernicious hyperlink, or downloading a malicious attachment. If you are the kind of user that loves to click on unnecessarily attractive links in your mails, you are at the risk of this kind of attack.
  6. Worms: A worm on a PC self-replicates itself and contaminates other computers without human intervention. This malware embeds itself in devices via security vulnerabilities or via link. Then the worms start to scavenge for networks to attack, the attacks often go unnoticed by users. Ordinarily, they mask as legitimate files making it difficult to quickly detect them.

REFERENCES

1.https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/tip/10-common-types-of-malware-attacks-and-how-to-prevent-them%3famp=1

2. https://www.executech.com/insights/glossary-common-types-cyber-attacks/

3. https://www.eccouncil.org/cybersecurity-exchange/cyber-novice/six-most-common-types-cyberattacks/

--

--

Technicon Ng

Quality and affordable repair at your fingertips. To order for a repair, visit www.technicon.ng www.technicon.ng