Here’s what you need to know about the scariest threats online
With
cyber criminals making more money than the global drug trade in 2018,
the complete list of online threats covers way more than we could
possibly describe on this page. The most significant online threats can
however be summarized as follows:
Botnets: These are a
collection of software robots, or 'bots', that operate as an army of
infected computers (also known as ‘zombies'). They are remotely
controlled by the virus creator. Often users are infected without even
knowing about it. If you are infected by a botnet virus, your computer
will send spam emails with viruses attached to your contact list or be
used as part of a denial of service attack against other systems.
DDoS
attacks: A distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack occurs when a
malicious user gets a network of zombie computers to sabotage a specific
website or server. The attack happens when the malicious user tells all
the zombie computers to contact a specific website or server over and
over again. That increase in the volume of traffic overloads the website
or server causing it to be slow for legitimate users, sometimes to the
point that the website or server shuts down completely. It could be
possible for malicious users to use your computer in one of these
attacks.
Malware infection: Malware is one of the more common
ways to infiltrate or damage your computer via computer viruses, worms,
Trojan horses, spyware, and adware. These viruses are often used to
intimidate you with scareware, which is usually a pop-up message that
tells you your computer has a security problem or other false
information. You could also lose all your information due to an attack
on your hard drive, have your files altered, or your sensitive
information stolen.
Ransomware: A type of advanced malware that
is rising in significance, ransomware extorts users to pay a sum of
money in order to regain control over their operating system/private
files. Payment to the cybercriminal is typically made with an
untraceable cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin.
Phishing: A method
most often used by cyber criminals because it's easy to execute and can
produce the results they're looking for with very little effort. It is
basically fake emails, text messages and websites created to look like
they're from authentic companies. They're sent by criminals to steal
personal and financial information from you. This is also known as
“spoofing”. This can trick you into giving them information by asking
you to update, validate or confirm your account. It is often presented
in a manner than seems official and intimidating, to encourage you to
take action and will provide cyber criminals with your username and
passwords so that they can access your accounts (your online bank
account, shopping accounts, etc.) and steal your credit card numbers.
Just a few reasons of why people create computer viruses…
It
depends on who created the virus. Most are made by criminals for
financial gain. Ransomware or phishing attacks are usually of this type.
Some are made by hackers just because they can (as an intellectual
challenge to see who will detect the new virus and fix it) and some are
made by governments (the best example being the now infamous Stuxnet
worm that was created by the US and Israeli governments to target
Iranian nuclear facilities and which caused their centrifuges to self
destruct).
Shopping for a decent anti-malware software? Find out the main differences between each provider.
Yes,
there are huge differences between the different offers. Some are
better for Mac computers and some are only for Mac computers. Some
support iOS and some only Windows. Some have better firewalls than
others. There are those with lots of added features such as password
managers, parental controls and gaming modes and those that only offer
anti malware features but really good ones at that. Some are more user
friendly than others, some are lighter on system resources and some
offer packages for many devices at a decent price. That is where we come
in – to help you make sense of it all!
No, a free antivirus program does not provide adequate protection for your needs
As with most things - you get what you pay for - and in the case of antivirus software, this is definitely true.
Free
antivirus programs do offer better protection than having no antivirus
program at all, and may be sufficient Internet security for some people.
But
when it comes to proper protection, the results of AV-Test and other
leading cyber security laboratories have proven that in the long run,
free antivirus programs by and large score way less well than their paid
alternatives. Our own experience has shown that even though free
Internet antivirus programs are successful at fending off some threats,
they tend to lack vital protection in key areas such as ransomware
protection and anti-spyware. They also have no extra features, poor
customer support, and can be quite annoying in their attempt to upsell
you to the paid version.
Whether or not one of these issues is a
deal breaker for you probably depends on what you use your computer for,
how important your personal information is to you, and what your
personal financial situation is.
We spend so many hours and such a
vital part of our lives online, and yet quite a few people are still
reluctant to pay the small cost of proper antivirus protection. The
results speak for themselves: The total cost for cybercrime committed
globally has added up to over $1 trillion dollars in 2018! Cyber crime
is now becoming more profitable than the global trade in illegal drugs.
Don’t
become a victim of ransomware, phishing or other malicious attacks –
protect yourself now! Our antivirus recommendations & ratings will
help you find the perfect protection for all your devices.Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Do I still need antivirus software in 2023?
Yes!
There is simply no way for creators of any Operating System and
therefore, your standard built-in antivirus software, to keep up with
the fast-changing cyber security landscape. If you want to safeguard
your computer against advanced cyber threats like phishing, online
theft, and all sorts of malware attacks, you need the extra layer of
protection provided by third-party antivirus suites.
Isn’t free antivirus software sufficient?
As
with all things free, you only get the bare-bones with a free version.
This means basic protection against viruses, spyware, and malware, and
other potential threats. While that is better than nothing, it is rarely
effective against any issues outside of an underlying bug in the
platform and will not protect you against phishing scams, ransomware
attacks and other nasties.
Besides real-time protection against virus attacks, what else do I get from a paid antivirus software?
Besides
getting better protection, paid antivirus programs often come with
extra features such as password management, a firewall, protection for
your mobile and tablet, a VPN, parental controls, identity theft
protection, and much more.
I’m currently running a free antivirus program from another vendor, do I need to remove that before installing a new one?
Yes!
It is not advisable to have two antivirus scanners running at the same
time as this might create a conflict. For example, your old antivirus
software may detect the new one as malicious and attempt to stop its
actions. The same is true for the new software. Also, running two
software at the same time is inefficient on your system's resources.
Does antivirus software slow down my computer?
All
software requires a certain amount of processing power to do its job
and antivirus programs are no different in this respect. With the
increase of processing power, the belief that antivirus software slows
down your computer usually comes from people who have suffered these
issues in the past. However, the last 10 years have seen significant
improvements in this respect and during our testing process, we now find
that even the most thorough scans consume almost negligible amounts of
resources. Unless your computer or laptop is more than 7 years old, you
do not have to worry about modern antivirus software affecting your
computer's speed at all!Disclaimer
TopAntivirusTech is offered as a free
service. We are reader-supported and only receive commissions from the
Antivirus companies we recommend on this page if you click our links and
make a purchase via our site. This impacts the ranking, score, and
order in which the services we work with (and their products) are
presented. Antivirus listings on this site DO NOT imply endorsement. We
do not feature all of the available Antivirus providers, only those we
have reviewed. We try to keep all of the information on this site as
up-to-date and fresh as possible, but cannot guarantee that this will
always be the case. All prices quoted on this site are based on USD so
there could be slight discrepancies due to currency fluctuations.
