The threat of malware is very real. Yet, many PC users fail to realize just how bad these types of attacks can be. According to a recent survey by the Australian Communications and Media Authority, half of the people didn’t think that malware was a threat to their computers, reported Infosecurity Magazine.
The research found that those who are older, those who speak a language other than English at home and those who make online purchases believed malware is a likely risk, compared to those who didn’t fall into those categories.
This could be a large problem considering that 86 percent of the people who were surveyed used the Internet on a regular basis. However, the study found that most were vigilant about using anti-spyware and antivirus programs to keep their computers free from infection.
Also, many who were surveyed had the know-how to prevent such attacks from happening, such as not clicking on email from unknown senders and staying away from unsafe websites.
Antivirus software not stopping hackers
Even with plenty of deterrents to malware, hackers still find new ways to infect computer systems. San Jose Mercury News contributor Steve Johnson talked about how some antivirus programs are having trouble keeping up with new viruses.
There are about 200,000 new malware programs that pop up each day, yet some antivirus software doesn’t pick up on these threats in a timely manner. Further underscoring the threat of zero-day exploits, users often fail to update their software on a regular basis, meaning the software can’t pick up new malware threads.
“I forgot to renew it, so boom, I guess I got some kind of virus,” said Jessie Trujillio, a student at San Jose State University.
Antivirus software companies are also doing their part to minimize the threat through innovations. One such advance is scanning for behavior on a PC that is suspicious and blocking it instantaneously, instead of just looking for known malware.
Users should also be wary of any antivirus pop-ups on their computers. Many of these are actually entry points for malware to infect a computer. Instead, people should get these programs from a trusted antivirus software provider. System Shield from iolo technologies offers anti-spyware and antivirus capabilities that scan the PC for any unauthorized or potentially malicious elements and eliminates them from the computer.
