These programs are the most common of malware, and they can destroy private files, operating systems, or open vulnerabilities for other malware infections.
StageFright’s popularity made it the first mobile-only threat featured on WatchGuard Threat Lab’s top-ten list of hacking attacks detected by IPS in 2017. How to Use StageFright to Hack Android The StageFright component is embedded in native code (i.e., C), instead of memory-safe languages such as Java, because media processing is time. Aug 25, 2015 The Stagefright media playback tool in Android has a vulnerability that allows hackers access to most phones from a text message, but you can defend yourself. Aug 11, 2015 The bad news here is that virtually all Android devices are susceptible to the Stagefright exploit. It affects phones running on Android 2.2 and above.
Computer viruses have been around for decades. A computer virus is the original malicious program created at the very beginning of computer inception before the Internet was even created. These programs are the most common of malware, and they can destroy private files, operating systems, or open vulnerabilities for other malware infections.
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General History of Viruses
One of the very first computer viruses was written as a prank. It was written for the Apple II computer, and it infected any floppy disk inserted after infection. On the 50th boot, the Elk Cloner virus would display a poem. It was a harmless yet effective way of self-replicating a computer program.
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In the 1970s, a virus named Creeper was created and distributed over the original version of the Internet – ARPANET. The virus displayed a simple message that said “I’m a creeper, catch me if you can!” A counter program named Reaper was then created to delete the virus – a sort of “antivirus” before antivirus applications were created.
In the 1980s, virus creators become more vicious and compiled programs that destroyed and deleted files. The limitation for virus creators was that the programs had to be spread using floppy disks passed from user to user. When the Internet became popular in the 1990s, viruses had a more convenient way to spread – websites and email. The 1990s is when viruses begin to spread more rapidly, and there are now over 17 million viruses since 2012.
What Does a Virus Do?
Although trojans and viruses often get lumped into the same category, they are different types of computer programs. A trojan gives a hacker access to your machine. A virus is meant to self-replicate, destroy or delete data, ruin boot sequences, or just send data to another user. With over 17 million viruses, it’s difficult to list every function of a virus. However, the main target for a computer hacker is someone with data to delete, destroy, or steal.
One main component of a computer virus is the replication factor. A virus isn’t efficient if it infects one PC and doesn’t spread to any other machines. To be effective, the virus must be able to replicate to other machines using any type of vector – diskettes, flash drives, the internet or email. This is done in numerous ways, most of which are clever ideas from virus creators. For instance, the 1990s saw several viruses that replicated through email. The virus would scan the user’s computer for contacts, and then email a copy of itself to all contacts. All it takes is for one user to open and run the malware to spread to dozens of more users. A couple of those dozen runs it again, and the virus is spread exponentially. As you can probably see, the strategy is extremely efficient.
Viruses started out corrupting boot files and deleting files, but current viruses are often used to steal data. Sensitive data makes hackers a high amount of cash on the black market. For this reason, most hackers go for data theft instead of just deleting important files.
Virus makers have even moved on to mobile devices. It wasn’t until the last few years that people did online banking from their phone, paid through apps, stored private information and shared documents using a mobile device. Most users don’t even have any type of antivirus installed on their smartphone, so it’s the perfect haven for virus creators.
What Can You Do to Avoid Viruses?
Because a majority of users had Windows a decade ago, most viruses targeted Windows users. Linux and Apple computers had very few viruses made for their operating system. Remember that virus creators must be able to replicate the virus across machines, so targeting Apple and Linux was a poor choice – there weren’t enough of these users. Today, however, the operating landscape is much different.
Times have changed and Linux and Apple computers continue to gain traction. It used to be that simply having an operating system besides Windows protected you from viruses. This isn’t the case anymore.
The first step towards avoiding viruses is only installing software you download from an official source. For instance, if you want to install Microsoft Office, you should only install it from Microsoft’s site or from a packaged suite you buy in a store. Virus writers use common programs distributed on third-party sites to help persuade users to install malware on their machines. These programs sometimes install the actual application, but then the creators add an extra malware piece to the installation process.
Some malware creators still use email. A person’s email is used to send a link to a group of contacts from the victim’s machine. The link points users to a virus file or a site where the user can download the virus. If you get a strange email from someone you know, alert the person that their email could be hacked but don’t click the link.
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If you receive an email with an executable attachment, you should either scan it or avoid running it on your computer altogether.
A few common file extensions that can install viruses:
- EXE
- CMD
- VBS
- ZIP.EXE
- TXT.EXE
The last two are used to mask the actual executable. Users see the TXT extension and immediately think the file is just a text file. They double-click the file and an executable runs with the virus instead of opening a plain text document. It’s the same with the zip extension. Users think they will open a zip file, but they run a virus executable instead.
Browsers sometimes leave your system open to malware. Older browsers such as Internet Explorer 6 were often the target of hackers. IE6 was commonly known for its vulnerability where hackers could install malware on a PC just when the user browses a website. Always keep your browser up-to-date, and install security patches when they are published. Internet Explorer has gotten more secure through the years, but most experts stick with FireFox or Chrome.
The basic rule of thumb for avoiding viruses is “only install software from a vendor you trust.”
Removing Viruses from Your PC
For the most part, viruses copy themselves to system directories. They create registry entries on your computer as well. The best and safest way to remove a virus from your computer is to run a good antivirus application on your computer. If you haven’t updated definition files, update them either through the application or download them from the official antivirus manufacturer. With a full scan on your computer using the latest definition files, you can rid your computer of most viruses in the wild.