Network Security

 So, I am not going to lie, I have fallen for the very common "download free games!" virus bug before. I know I know, but at the time I was 10 and I really wanted to play the new Mario game for free on a computer. That was a really fun conversation with my dad, a network technician, who wondered why my computer was acting pretty funny when he tried to use it to print a family photo. Obviously, I had some form of malware, or malicious software, on the computer that downloaded and installed viruses, little sections of script that intend to harm or gain unwanted access to the computer. So much for the free Mario game...

But how are these things defined? Viruses generally refer to programs that get into computers unintentionally and disrupt normal operation of the device and cause some form of damage to the programs and data (Subramanya & Lakshminarasimhan, 2001), and can come in many forms. Some of these forms include Trojan horses, worms, file duplicators, and many more, but most of the time now come in the form of trojan horses. These viruses package themselves as software that can be beneficial or wanted, but instead acts as a “cover” for script that damages the operation of the computer. For a different example, let's say a website offers a service where you can watch a movie that just came out in theatres for free. Sounds great, right? So the user downloads the file that it tells them to, labelled “FreeMovie.exe”, but as soon as it is downloaded, it gives access to the computer to a remote user, or a “bad actor”. This then lets that bad actor gain access and steal data from the computer. It happens consistently in todays world, but there are products like anti-virus software that can help companies and individuals protect themselves from these threats.

A type of virus that packages itself as a software is malware, or “malicious software”, and one of the more common types of these are ransomware. , or a malicious software that encrypts a victim’s files and demands payment for the software to unlock the files (Yamany et al., 2024). These can be downloaded via websites, random USB drives, or even emailed to a victim as well. These can be particularly complex and has claimed data for millions of people and companies around the globe, and remains that way even today, but there are many tools and methods for cybersecurity professionals to combat these threats, but there are still evolving threats of ransomware and malware, and in some cases can be artificial intelligence (AI) generated. 

Now, the ways to prevent these can be pretty simple, but these are not all of them!

1. If It Sounds Too Good To Be True, It Probably Is

If a website offers a service for free that should definitely be paid for, or a free video game, do not download, or at least follow the next step.

2. Check the Website

If a website has nothing to do with the service it is offering, or has a bunch of junk in the website such as inappropriate ads or things like that, do not trust it immediately. You can also do a quick Google search about the website, and see if anybody else reported it or has used it.

3. Phone A Friend

Asking someone if a website seems legitimate is always a good call. It helps even more if they have experience with this sort of thing!

4. Install Anti-Virus!

Of course, as long as it is a trusted brand, but this can also save you from those files executing to cause your computer to be in the hands of someone else.

References

Shirzad, A., Mohammadi, S., & Oghaz, H. (2016). Computer Viruses and Their Role

          in Accounting Information Systems. International Journal of Knowledge Management

          & Practices, 4(1), 43–50. https://doi.org/10.21863/ijkmp/2016.4.1.017

 

Alam, M. N., Singh, A., Kumari, M., Agrawal, P., Dubey, P., & Kumar, A. (2023).

          Detection and Prevention of Malware and Ransomware Threats Using Malicious String

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          Engineering and Technology (ICSEIET), Sustainable Emerging Innovations in

          Engineering and Technology (ICSEIET), 2023 International Conference On, 93–98.

          https://doi.org/10.1109/ICSEIET58677.2023.10303501

 

Subramanya, S. R., & Lakshminarasimhan, N. (2001). Computer viruses. IEEE

          Potentials, Potentials, IEEE, 20(4), 16–19. https://doi.org/10.1109/45.969588

 

Ford, R. (2004). The wrong stuff? [computer viruses]. IEEE Security & Privacy,

          Security & Privacy, IEEE, IEEE Secur. Privacy, 2(3), 86–89.

          https://doi.org/10.1109/MSP.2004.27

 

Yamany, B., Elsayed, M. S., Jurcut, A. D., Abdelbaki, N., & Azer, M. A. (2024). A

          Holistic Approach to Ransomware Classification: Leveraging Static and Dynamic

          Analysis with Visualization. Information (2078-2489), 15(1), 46.

          https://doi.org/10.3390/info15010046