Are you aware that, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, there were more than 280,000 cases of cybercrime reported in 2012 alone? As online shopping continues to soar in popularity, an industry that surpassed $1 trillion in sales for the first time in 2012, according to NBC News, Americans need to find increasingly secure ways to defend themselves against these predators. Here are three of the most common current computer viruses and what you can do to defend against them to keep your online safety as high as possible.
- RootKit.Sirefef.Gen
- Flame
- Keyloggers
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According to Bitdefender, this computer virus is one of the latest examples of cyber crime that presents itself as a seemingly innocuous, if not annoying, computer issue. This virus, RootKit for short, makes random pop ups come up on your screen. However, in the background it is giving dangerous parties access to your computer’s command functions. If you want to get rid of it, you need to download specialized removal tools such as those offered by BitDefender and McAfee.
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Flame was, according to TechBeat, originally written by Middle Eastern espionage agencies looking to steal information from the United States, although it seems to have since turned its attention toward Iran. Flame presents an especially difficult challenge for cyber security because most will never know it was on their system. It infiltrates and steals data. After sending that data, it “self-destructs”, according to RT. While it is a self removing computer virus, the fact is you can do little to ward it off once you have it.
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Keylogger viruses are a type of worm computer virus that infect your computer and proceed to mine data. After they are installed, they watch every single key-stroke you make. Hence, they are called “keyloggers”. Because of their function, they make it very easy for hostile parties to learn passwords, bank account numbers, and other private information.
According to Matt Smith of Make Use Of, keyloggers are generally quite easy to defend against. This current computer virus cannot log anything that is not typed. Smith writes that using automatic password managers, such as browser-based applications and Clipperz, allows you to input passwords without giving it away to third parties.
Of Course, The Best Offense…
While online security continues to be something of a touchy proposition, the fact is that many of the worst current computer viruses, including those listed, can be avoided by maintaining a high quality, up-to-date anti-virus program and firewall. According to Kaspersky, good anti-virus software can remove existing threats and prevent new infections.
For now, it seems like the best internet users can do is be safe on the web and do their best to stay protected. Do not open suspicious links in e-mail, only buy from trusted sites, and keep your computer defended with anti-virus software and firewalls. If you do, you greatly reduce your need to know how to remove these three of the most dangerous current computer viruses.