How Are People Targeted With Malware?

Malware, short for malicious software, is a program that is intentionally designed to harm computer systems and devices. In 2022, 5.5 billion malware attacks occurred around the world. Cybercriminals often use malware to cause damage to a system, take control of your device, spy on your web activity or steal personal data for financial gain. Individuals are targeted with malware through methods such as phishing, smishing and vishing which are types of social engineering. These deceptive tactics are used to trick people into downloading malicious software, allowing cybercriminals to gain unauthorized access to sensitive information and data. 

Continue reading to learn more about how malware is delivered and how to prevent malware attacks.

How cybercriminals target people

Two of the most common ways cybercriminals target people are through email phishing and social engineering.

Email phishing

Email phishing is one common way cybercriminals target people. Cybercriminals will often send emails that appear to be from legitimate sources like your banking institution or a close personal contact containing a malicious link or file. Additionally, they will try to persuade the victim to click on the link or attachment by creating a sense of urgency.

Social engineering

Social engineering is the act of psychologically manipulating people into exposing their private information or performing a specific action. Statistics show that 70% to 90% of data breaches occur due to social engineering, making it one of the largest cybersecurity threats for organizations and individuals. Cybercriminals will use any available information to target victims. Oversharing on social media can expose a lot of information that cybercriminals can use to make their cyber threats more convincing.  

How malware is delivered

Malware is often delivered through malicious websites, clicking on malicious links or attachments, drive-by-downloads and unintentionally downloading the malicious software. 

Malicious websites

Spoofed websites are malicious websites intentionally designed to look like legitimate websites to purposely deceive individuals. The URL, also referred to as the website address, of the spoofed website will resemble the URL of the site that is being replicated, but if you closely examine it, there will be a slight difference. For example, the URL may have a zero instead of the letter “O.” The primary goal of spoofed websites is to trick individuals into sharing their sensitive information such as login credentials, credit card numbers and bank account information. 

Clicking on malicious links or attachments 

As mentioned earlier, the most common way people become victims of malware attacks is by unintentionally clicking on malicious links or attachments from emails, messages or spoofed websites. Clicking on a malicious link can lead to accidentally revealing your personal information or credentials on a fake website or downloading malware onto your device. 

Drive-by-downloads

A drive-by-download is a cyber attack in which malware is installed onto a person’s device without them knowing. These attacks don’t require that the victim click anything for their device to get infected because it attacks the vulnerabilities (security flaws, lack of updates, unsuccessful updates) of your device’s Operating System (OS). For example, if a person visits a webpage with malicious code, their device can become infected through a drive-by-download immediately. 

Downloading mistrusted software

Another way someone can have their device infected with malware is by downloading an application or service from a malicious third-party website. Cybercriminals will often trick you into downloading software by promoting it as a “great deal” or even “free.” For example, let’s say you want to download an application on your phone but it costs money. Alternatively, you come across a website that offers a free version of the application so you install it. Downloading the application from this third-party website can immediately infect your device.

5 ways to prevent a malware attack

Here are five ways to protect yourself from falling victim to a malware attack.

1. Keep software up-to-date

It’s important to keep your software up-to-date because software updates contain new security features, patch security flaws and remove bugs. By regularly updating your software, you’re not only improving performance, but also ensuring that your device’s security vulnerabilities are patched – making it significantly harder for cybercriminals to target your device with malware. 

2. Use antivirus software

Antivirus software is a program designed to detect and remove any known computer viruses or malware before they’re able to infect your device. Once antivirus software is installed, it will continuously scan incoming files and programs being sent to your device, comparing them to a database with known viruses and malware. If a virus or malware is detected, the antivirus software will quarantine and remove the malicious files before they’re able to infect your device.  

3. Check if an email attachment is safe

Before clicking on an email attachment always check to see if it’s safe. By confirming the security of attachments, you can avoid accidentally installing malware on your device. Here are three tips for checking the safety of an email attachment.

• Double-check the sender of the email
• Don’t open email attachments that are marked as spam
• Use antivirus software to scan attachments

4. Only download from trusted sources

It’s always a best practice to only download from trusted sources to ensure the security of your device and its data. If you plan on downloading something, review these tips to ensure you are not downloading anything malicious: 

• Confirm the download is coming from an official application or website 
• Check the URL for any grammatical or spelling errors
• Use antivirus software
• Avoid downloading software or applications from third-party websites

5. Use a password manager

Consider investing in a password manager to help prevent malware attacks. Password managers store your login credentials along with the URL associated with them. Whenever you land on a website and the password manager doesn’t automatically fill in your credentials, this means that the website address doesn’t match what is stored in your password vault and you should exit the site immediately because it’s likely a spoofed website. 

Stop malware before it’s too late

Malware is a major threat that can target individuals and organizations. While it’s important to recognize the signs of an attempted malware attack, it’s just as important to implement precautionary measures to protect your data. 

Investing in a password manager like Keeper® can help you or your organization securely manage and store all your passwords and sensitive documents in an encrypted vault. Since Keeper autofills login credentials, it can also help prevent you from entering your credentials on spoofed websites. 

Sign up for a free 30-day personal trial or 14-day business trial to protect yourself or your organization from malware infections.