PC Virus – Do you Know How a Computer Virus Spreads?

Losing your computer data or becoming a victim of cyber threats is one of the biggest nightmares one could ever have. Imagine, last night you prepared an important analysis report for your company’s new project but in the morning it’s all gone. Each time you try to open the file, it sends an error message and there’s just nothing you can do to fix it.

So, how and why did this happened?

Most probably, this is a computer virus attack. A virus which is a type of malicious program might have entered your computer system and has infected your files. But then, how did it entered your system and ruined everything? Well, there are several ways by which a computer virus spreads into your system. Below are some of the most common ones:

Phishing Emails

No matter if you use Gmail, yahoo, outlook or any other emailing service, you must be receiving promotional emails in your inbox. These emails include attachments or web links that contain viruses or malicious files. Clicking and opening such media makes way for malware to access your computer system.

Security Tip: Never open any random email message. Check the sender name, subject line and take an idea what it is about.

Rogue Websites

Several websites on the Internet, usually adult, gaming, entertainment and dating websites, automatically install adware and other malicious programs onto your system. You might have been in a situation when opening a website leads to a series of popups that appear on your screen.

Security Tip: Use an antivirus program and customize its web access settings. You can adjust the connection and installation settings to ‘ask for permission’ before an outside program performs an action on your system.

Infected Boot Disks

Hard drives that contain infected disks are a major reason behind virus attacks. When you use such a hard drive and restart your PC, the virus program gets activated and your data gets compromised.

Security Tip: Always give a check to the origin of a disk that is inside your hard drive.

Freeware

In our quest to get a software for free, we sometimes end up infecting our computer systems. Many gaming websites, songs and video websites intentionally put virus in their media and when you download such software on your computer, the virus activates itself and corrupts your data.

Security Tip: Always download freeware from a trusted source that ensures data safety.

External Devices

Other than your hard disk, there are several other external devices from where viruses can enter your system. For instance, your mobile when connected to your PC could infect it in case there is any malware present in the mobile device. In the same way, a USB device can also infect your system when inserted into it.

Security Tip: In this case, having an Antivirus Program installed on your computer system is highly recommended. Your antivirus software will scan the data present in the external device and detects if any threats are there.

Online Ads

Ads that contain malicious codes can infect your computer when clicked. Hackers or cyber attackers place ads on trusted websites and insert malicious codes once these ads gain reputation and credibility.

Security Tip: It is always advised NOT to click on online ads randomly. If you wish to click on an ad, firstly hover your mouse over the ad to see where it is redirecting.

Social Media

Social networking websites are one of the most popular source for spreading viruses. You shall never trust blindly on the links shared by public groups and people because you never know who is behind those virtual profiles.

Security Tip: Do not click on videos, images, links, etc. shared on social media. Follow content shared by only reputed pages and people.

Unpatched Software

Outdated software is one of the easiest ways for hackers to enter into a computer system. Security holes that are not known to the publisher or developer are exploited by the hackers and result in zero day attacks.

Security Tip: Always install security updates on your computer.

What’s your take on this? Have you been in a situation where your data was compromised due to computer virus attack? Share your words with us about what measures you took to beat such attacks!

Note- This blog has been updated.