It is a reality that whenever we surf the Internet we can run into many threats that in one way or another can affect us. In this article we are going to focus on two of the most important and that are often linked. Let’s talk about how ransomware and phishing attacks have evolved. We will also give some tips to avoid being victims of these attacks.
Evolution of ransomware in recent months
Hackers are constantly adapting to steal information or compromise the security of victims’ computers. In the case of ransomware, it is no exception. This is one of the attacks they use to profit. Basically what they do is encrypt the content of a computer and then ask for a ransom in return.
Undoubtedly the main evolution in recent times of hackers is the creation of web pages to recruit affiliates . In this way they can cover a larger scenario in the network to reach the final victim.
How do these affiliate recruiting sites work? Basically a hacker creates the malware, ransomware in this case, and offers it to another to infect computers. Later the profits are distributed. This attacker who has signed up as an affiliate is going to take a commission from the profits for infecting.
This makes ransomware an even bigger threat . Today there are malicious tools very accessible to anyone with the necessary knowledge. This means that they can reach more and more victims.
How Phishing Has Changed
Another type of attack very present in the network is what is known as Phishing . In recent months it has also evolved to attack more victims. It is a major problem as it seriously compromises our personal data and passwords.
It must be taken into account that these attacks can come through very different means. One of them, the most frequent without a doubt, is email. However, they can also send malicious links via SMS or even phone calls . These last two methods are the ones that have increased a lot in recent months, so we can say that the trend of Phishing is to further diversify the means they use to reach the victim.
Regarding the scams they use, here we can say that what they were using until now is maintained, but everything related to taxes, returns, etc. has increased. They usually throw the hook at potential victims by sending a message where they can supposedly see a series of taxes that they have to pay, money that they have to return, etc.
Tips to avoid being a victim of these attacks
After explaining how Phishing and ransomware attacks have been evolving in recent months, comes the most important thing: what to do to be protected. It is important to avoid being victims of these types of threats on the network. We can always keep some important tips in mind.
Have security programs
Something basic is always having security software installed. A good antivirus can come in handy to reduce the risk of being the victim of a wide variety of attacks, such as ransomware or even Phishing.
Luckily we can have many security programs, such as an antivirus or firewall. In this way we will be protected at all times and we will not leave any gap for cybercriminals to sneak in.
Have everything updated
It will also be essential to have our equipment and programs up to date . In many cases they are based on security errors that they detect in order to exploit them. In this way they can access our information, collect data or infect your computer.
Our advice is to always install all the patches that are available. It is something that we must apply regardless of whether we are using one operating system or another. Anyone can become vulnerable at any given moment.
Common sense
But without a doubt something that can not be missing is common sense . Especially in these two types of attacks that we have talked about, ransomware and Phishing, hackers are going to need us to make some kind of mistake in order to access the computers. Also, reducing your fingerprint can come in handy for security.
In short, ransomware and Phishing have evolved in recent months. It is essential to be protected at all times and not to make any kind of mistake. In this way we will maintain privacy and security.
