Malware attacks in full force during May
Written by: Tanya Gonzalez
Web surfers beware! The number of malware attacks continues to increase during the month of May.
April was an especially devastating month for web users across the nation, as malware practitioners took advantage of major events like the royal wedding and May has been following in the same footsteps, especially after the death of Osama Bin Laden.
In the month of April alone, there were over 73,000 variations of malware software released daily, which is 26 percent more than last year’s rates. Of the top ten black hat SEO and malware threats, seven were Trojan viruses.
A popular black hat SEO trend in April was the selling of fake antivirus software. Web surfers browsing for information on Prince William and Kate Middleton’s marriage were very likely to stumble upon malware that infected their computers once they clicked on a link, which would then direct them to purchase fake antivirus software products.
Through the use of links, images and video content, malware providers were able to scam millions of people into purchasing the fake software.
Although white hat SEO webmasters try to combat the malware providers, the black hat SEO practitioners keep coming up with new ways to stay alive. Through the use of variant software, malware providers are able to continue evading online security teams and real antivirus programs.
Not even Mac computers were safe from malware this April. A special virus that targeted the Mac OS X ran rampant throughout the internet.
Things are only expected to get worse. With the summer months approaching, black hat SEO practitioners are likely to abuse links to theme and water parks, beach gear, maybe even air conditioning products.
In order to prevent a malware attack on your computer, be sure to only click on links to sites that you know and trust. Most malware sites are unrecognizable by many people and usually advertise unrealistic products and prices.
Also, never give out your credit card information unless you are on a well-known site. Even then, it is recommended to use a prepaid visa card instead of your personal credit card to eliminate the possibility of identity theft.
It is also wise to run security checks from companies that you can trust, like AVG, to make sure your PC or laptop does not get infested with viruses. The more you run virus scans, the easier it will be to remove threats before they escalate into larger problems.
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