UltraAV and UltraVPN: New Kaspersky Brands

Two months following the ban from the US market, Russian cybersecurity vendor Kaspersky resurfaced in an inofficial manner. As no bans were lifted from the US side, this was the only option, as attempts to squeeze through the restrictions will likely lead to bans, and will have problems with monetization. And now, Kaspersky antivirus and VPN software solutions are back, though under a different branding – UltraAV and UltraVPN.

Kaspersky was banned in June 2024 after a 5-year-long investigation after accusations of data collection from its users. While other antivirus vendors can do this, too, the Russian vendor has two distinct differences. Firstly, it was proven to put its hands on exact files, file names or similar information, gathered from the system running their antivirus, which is not normal and is not met elsewhere. Secondly, Kaspersky is registered in Russia, meaning it should obey its law. And the latter, in turn, demands companies to store all the user data (including things I’ve just mentioned) and provide law enforcement access to it on demand. That is a pretty significant safety concern that has been multiplied after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The new, completely de-personified names give little to no brand trust, though people familiar with the “old” Kaspersky software will likely have no doubt in new. Aside from the branding, they have also changed the website: instead of Kaspersky.com, they now use Ultrasecureav.com, while the former remains active even though the products from the page are banned. The latter was registered around the date when the US court stated the ban for Kaspersky, so the prohibition was expected and the company was getting ready ahead of the events.

Are UltraAV and UltraVPN Safe to Use?

Nominally, yes, but I won’t recommend you using them if you value your privacy. While having a very effective scanning engine and overall well-established ecosystem, deliberately exposing personal information is suboptimal for many users. Some may say their information is not very valuable and Google/Apple/other software companies do it anyway, but this is where trustworthiness comes into play. US companies typically use such information for targeting ads according to your preferences, while UltraAV-Kaspersky does so without any reasonable explanation. And the users, along with the court came to the conclusion it all is about gathering big data from the entire world in favor of Russian intelligence.

Things are getting even worse with VPN services. Antivirus programs can access files in a certain way, but that is it – they do not get to some really valuable information to begin with. UltraVPN, on the other hand, wires all the network traffic on the device through itself, meaning that all the browsing history will end up on the VPN’s servers. And while some virtual private network providers boast of recording absolutely no logs of user activity, this is, once again, not the story of rebadged Kaspersky products.

The overall verdict here is that you can use both antivirus and VPN: they are not malicious and provide the declared features. But each one of them puts user information safety into question, especially in the long run. And, in fairness, there are a lot of other options for decent antiviruses around, that do not have these disadvantages.

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Despite the clear dangers, many users still overlook the importance of safeguarding their computers with security software. The process of selecting, installing, and configuring an antivirus, not to mention the system resources it consumes, might seem daunting and unnecessary. However, it’s crucial to remember that safety measures, though they might appear excessive, prove their worth when you most need them.

Understanding Malware Protection

Let’s start by defining malware. The term “malware” — short for “malicious software” — encompasses a variety of harmful programs designed to infiltrate and damage computers. Besides malware, there are non-executable scripts and other network threats like phishing, which doesn’t rely on directly infecting a computer with programs.

Now let us see what malware does from the standpoint of the attacker. The list of damages types below may not be exhaustive, but it summarizes the harm hackers usually inflict by malware nowadays and the reason for such their activities.

Data Theft via Spyware

Hackers deploy spyware, a category of malware, to execute data theft. This group includes diverse programs with a common espionage function. For instance, keyloggers record all keystrokes, while rogue browsers spy on online activities. Their capabilities vary: some might only transfer your browsing history to third parties, while others can record keystrokes or intercept your internet traffic.

Beyond the immediate privacy invasion, spyware also consumes CPU resources in the background, slowing down your computer.

The most severe risk of spyware is identity theft, which can have devastating consequences, including the loss of financial credentials and all the money in your account.

Cryptocurrency Mining Malware

Specialized malware, often introduced to systems as Trojans or downloaded by other Trojans, exists solely to use the infected device’s resources for mining cryptocurrency for others. This process, which involves cryptographic tasks, is handled by the victim’s CPU.

Infected devices typically experience reduced processing speeds and slower internet connections as a result of these mining activities.

Botnet Involvement

Botnets are networks of malware-infected computers controlled remotely by hackers. This collective control allows hackers to perform large-scale operations like DDoS attacks or massive automated posting, activities that are impossible with a single machine. Furthermore, a botnet can propagate itself, potentially growing to tens of millions of infected devices.

For users, the signs of a botnet infection include an overloaded CPU and unexplained internet traffic, with most botnet activities occurring without their knowledge.

Adware: Turning Browsing into a Billboard

Adware encompasses a wide range of software, including overt malware and potentially unwanted applications (PUPs). Malicious adware transforms your browsing experience into a barrage of distractions, reminiscent of the Las Vegas Strip, with bright flashing banners constantly appearing and obstructing your view. Additionally, adware can embed advertisement links within the text of web pages you visit to provoke accidental clicks. Some adware even extends beyond your browser, displaying ads throughout the operating system.

Adware may manifest as easy-to-remove browser extensions, rogue browsers, or various “handy” applications. Some adware operates covertly, appearing only as unremarkable processes in your Task Manager.

The negative effects of adware are obvious and typically prompt users to cleanse their computers. If you find adware on your system, removing it is crucial, as its presence can lead to further malware infections.

Ransomware: Encrypting Data for Ransom

Ransomware is one of the most destructive types of malware. Once it infiltrates a device, it encrypts all data files of specific types, making access to these files impossible, and leaves a ransom note demanding payment in cryptocurrency. The note details the payment amount necessary for the decryption key, which cybercriminals typically provide after receiving the ransom—this ensures that future victims also pay, trusting the scheme will resolve their issues.

Ransomware attacks have become a highly profitable malware-based enterprise, generating millions in annual revenue for perpetrators and are now more rampant than ever. For more insights, read about the business model of ransomware.

Taking Control Over the System with Rootkits

Rootkits represent a particularly perilous class of malware due to their ability to grant hackers administrative-like control over a system. Found at rootkits, these programs are notorious for their capability to create a backdoor—an unauthorized pathway circumventing access controls. This backdoor allows hackers to issue commands directly from the core of the infected system, with potential damages limited only by the attackers’ objectives.

The threat of rootkits highlights the necessity for robust system security measures to detect and counteract such invasive control.

Recognizing Symptoms of Malware Infection

Understanding the symptoms of a malware infection is crucial for early detection and response. This section summarizes the key signs to watch for, regardless of the specific type of malware affecting your device. By paying close attention to these indicators, you may be able to identify the type of malware based on the symptoms alone.

• Slow PC and Crashing Programs: Various types of malware, especially those like cryptocurrency miners, operate in the background, consuming substantial system resources. This can noticeably decrease your PC’s performance and cause frequent program crashes.
• Lack of Storage: Some malware types use significant amounts of hard drive space, leaving insufficient room for your regular activities.
• Slow Internet: Malware can also degrade your Internet speed by generating background traffic that consumes your bandwidth.
• Spam Reports: If friends report spam from your email or social media accounts, it’s likely that malware has hijacked your accounts.
• Advertising Pop-ups: Unexpected ads and unfamiliar applications are common signs of adware infection. These can be both annoying and risky if they lead to inadvertent clicks.
• Weird Extensions Added to Data Files: This is a hallmark of ransomware. Encrypted files become inaccessible, and a ransom is demanded for their release— a harsh reminder of the dangers of online carelessness.

Not Only Malware Protection

Enhancing cybersecurity involves more than just installing software; it requires a proactive approach to safeguard your digital environment. Staying vigilant is crucial, especially within a workgroup. Educating your team on basic security principles can significantly reduce the risk of malware infections which often exploit human errors such as inattention and gullibility through social engineering tactics. For example, phishing attacks might not always carry malware directly, but they frequently aim to compromise devices as part of their strategy. You can learn how to recognize and avoid phishing scams to better protect yourself.

Another vital measure is to be wary of unknown email attachments, links, or banners. Malware commonly infiltrates systems through scripts embedded in files or websites that users inadvertently access. Regular updates to your operating system are also essential; they minimize vulnerabilities and boost the efficacy of antivirus solutions. Stay informed about the latest security practices to keep your system robust against threats.

Furthermore, employing two-factor authentication wherever possible can drastically enhance the security of your online accounts, effectively minimizing the risk of unauthorized access. Lastly, the cornerstone of a solid cybersecurity strategy is the installation of trustworthy antivirus software. A vigilant approach, combined with reliable security programs, forms the most effective defense, detecting and eliminating threats before they can cause any damage.

How Malware Protection Can Help?

We were going to discuss the benefits of using malware protection, and now, let’s delve into what an antivirus does. Consider the example of Gridinsoft Malicious Software Removal. This program offers comprehensive triple protection.

The first layer is On-Run Protection. The program monitors all new files on your machine. Before any incoming file can cause damage, it scans it. If identified as malicious or unwanted, the file is immediately quarantined, allowing the user to decide whether to delete it or restore it.

Next, there’s Internet Protection. This function blocks hazardous websites and alerts you about suspicious ones. Websites are deemed dangerous if they contain malicious scripts or lack an SSL certificate. These blocks and warnings, though overridable, provide essential protection in most scenarios.

The most thorough option is the Deep Scan. You can choose the scope of the scan: a more comprehensive scan takes longer but increases the likelihood of detecting and eliminating malware. Some malware types can only be uncovered and removed through such in-depth scanning.

Malware Protection Parting Wishes

By integrating various virus detection methods, Gridinsoft products showcase versatility and effectiveness, performing robustly on both home and corporate devices. You can deploy this software as your primary security system or as a supplementary antivirus scanner. Its cost-effectiveness is matched by its efficacy.

As for the general benefits of using antivirus software, they are undeniable. Threats may seem distant until they directly impact you. Cybersecurity is no exception to this rule. However, any doubts about the necessity of antivirus will likely dissipate after the first successful interception of a dangerous Trojan, ideally neutralized by your antivirus.

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Is Rsenginesvc.exe Virus?

As I wrote above, rsEngineSvc.exe process is a part of RAV Antivirus (Reason Core Security Engine Service). It is a program from ReasonLabs and supposedly serves to protect against viruses and various threats. In fact, RAV Antivirus appears when the user clicks on a malicious link or installs a cracked program.

Normally, rsEngineSvc should not cause any significant troubles. Nonetheless, its appearance is barely a desired thing for the user. The behavior of this “antivirus” is also obtrusive, with pop-ups and startup scans that you cannot disable. This, combined with higher-than-usual resource consumption, should be a good reason to remove rsEngineSvc from your computer.

RsEngineSvc.exe High CPU and Disk Usage Explained

Typically for any antivirus, RAV, that contains the rsEngineSvc.exe will perform scanning operations. During this routine, it is natural for most antiviruses to use CPU power and create a sensible disk load. However, due to the lackluster development, rsEngineSvc.exe (Reason Core Security Engine Service) is much less efficient, which leads to excessive usage of system resources.

The problem is particularly sensible for the systems with hard disk drives. HDDs are typically slower, slow enough to be overloaded by a single program that uses one intensively. Such discomfort, combined with less than controllable behavior is yet another reason to remove rsEngineSvc.

It is important to emphasize that the load created by rsEngineSvc is not malicious, e.g. it does not mine cryptocurrencies or performs other illegal activities at your expense.

Can I delete or uninstall rsEngineSvc?

To remove rsEngineSvc.exe from your system, I’d recommend Gridinsoft Anti-Malware. Since RAV Antivirus commonly arrives bundled with other programs, it is expected that your system to be flooded by other PUAs. And to get your system clean from any unwanted programs, using proper anti-malware software is essential.

Download and install Anti-Malware by clicking the button below. After the installation, run a Full scan: this will check all the volumes present in the system, including hidden folders and system files. Scanning will take around 15 minutes.

After the scan, you will see the list of detected malicious and unwanted elements. It is possible to adjust the actions that the antimalware program does to each element: click "Advanced mode" and see the options in the drop-down menus. You can also see extended information about each detection - malware type, effects and potential source of infection.

Click "Clean Now" to start the removal process. Important: removal process may take several minutes when there are a lot of detections. Do not interrupt this process, and you will get your system as clean as new.

How do you prevent rsEngineSvc.exe or other PUPs from installing?

To prevent the installation of rsenginesvc.exe or other potentially unwanted programs (PUPs), you need to be careful when downloading and installing freeware from the Internet. Additionally, exercise caution when visiting suspicious websites and opening malicious emails.
Here are some tips to help you protect your computer from PUPs:

• Use a reliable antivirus software such as Gridinsoft Anti-Malware and update it regularly. This will help you detect and remove PUPs if they get on your system.
• Be careful when visiting unknown or suspicious websites and do not click on pop-ups, banners, or links that may lead to PUP download.
• Be careful when downloading and installing freeware from unreliable sources, and always choose custom or advanced installation mode to decline additional offers or PUPs. Some programs may install other programs along with themselves without your consent or knowledge, so it is important to read all terms and agreements before installing any software.

The post rsEngineSvc.exe Process: Reason Core Security Engine Service appeared first on Gridinsoft Blog.

What is Scareware?

Scareware is a scam that plays on fears of inexperienced users. Although computer viruses are an obsolete type of malware, and you will hardly catch one nowadays even if you try, they remain a horror story for people. And the least you know about a threat, the easier it can scare you.

Both trustworthy and scam security products are promoted via advertising. An advertisement of a good solution will respect the customer and make stress on qualities and features of the promoted program. In the worst case – it will explain that there are many threats out there on the Web, and each endpoint needs protection. The scareware, on the contrary, will try convincing you that your computer is already infected with malware. Moreover, pushy ads will insist on immediate installation of the program they represent, as if it were a last chance to cure your pc.

The profitability of the scheme is understandable. People get scared, buy the program and feel like the defenders of their computer system. Perhaps later, the apprehension will come that they just threw away their money, but they will no longer be able to get it back. There are usually many victims of such deception, and that is the very thing on which the scam relies.

Sadly, losing money is not the worst thing that can happen. Sometimes such malvertising used as a filter: whoever bought into this definitely does not have an actual antivirus. Accordingly, those agents who do business on the distribution of adware and malware can safely install a bunch of harmful programs on the victim’s device.

How Scareware Works

It all starts with a person suddenly seeing an advertising banner on some website. The banner itself looks like an automatic notification. Novice users may not even understand that they are dealing with an advertisement.

The message usually says that a scan of the user’s computer was carried out, which found infection with dangerous malware. Already here, a knowledgeable person could have laughed because not only is it impossible to scan the device so quickly, but it would also be problematic to do it remotely without preliminary procedures.

But charlatans deal with inexperienced people and therefore continue their psychological attack. The banners usually include very serious-looking malware names, tables, codes, etc. The more serious the picture looks, the stronger the effect. In all its appearance, the message tries to appear automatic. You can see, for example, this caption: “threat level: high“, as if the same plate could give out a reassuring “low“.

Such schemes are generally built on a series of psychological techniques. Intimidation is only the first of them. The use of colors plays with the victim’s emotions. Red stands for anything related to threats. As soon as the “rescue” program enters the scene, a soothing blue or green color appears. This feeling of possible safety encourages the user to make a purchase. In addition, the price is low. Most scareware schemes rely on the possibility of quick payments combined with a vast number of buyers.

Alternative Scams

There may be more time-consuming schemes for the crooks. For example, they might launch a massive campaign offering free device scans. To take one, the user must first download the software, the functionality of which will be limited until the program is purchased. So that this payment is still made, the scan will produce frightening results. This approach counts on more educated users.

By the way, the scope of scareware is not limited to the security sector. You can imagine other types of scareware, such as cleaners, that will scare users by saying: “look, a little more, and your system will get so clogged with the garbage that the device will start freezing.” The advertised program will be able to delete unused applications, temporary files, etc.

The programs in question can remain completely fake without an iota of the promised functionality. All “treatment” of the device, just like the initial intimidation, can be just a visual effect.

What are The Threats?

Theoretically, the victim of scareware could get lucky, and the only problem would be the wasted money. But more often than not, a deceptive program will leave an unpleasant payload behind. Its severity may vary. In fact, it corresponds to the degree of danger from the unwanted or overtly malicious software that scareware can fetch onto the victim’s computer. In most cases, installing a scareware application will decrease the PC’s running speed. We’ll be coming from the guess that scareware developers want understandable profit from their victims, not reduced to the price of the application.

This goal implies infecting the device with either of the malware types:

• Adware is a class of relatively harmless unwanted applications. They flood users with ad banners, modify browsers’ settings, add ad links on webpages, etc.
• Spyware is a more significant threat. Hidden software collects information about the system and the user’s activity to send it to people who can commercially benefit from having it. o
• Miners are the programs that steal computing resources of the victim’s machine and throw them at mining cryptocurrency (for somebody else, of course.) The injured side will also be surprised by the electricity consumption rate.
• Cybercriminals can add the infected device to the botnet, a controlled network, to perform certain activities on the web unbeknownst to the user.
• Ransomware is probably the worst case. This malware encodes all data files on the victim’s computer, and the only chance to get them back is to buy a key from the racketeers.

Criminals can drop many other types of malware into the unaware victim’s system. However, those are more suitable for targeted attacks and require hackers’ special attention. The malware mentioned above can work and bring profit automatically.

How not to be fooled by scareware?

• Install an modern antivirus software. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is one of the best solutions on the market due to the combination of technical efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Its virus libraries are regularly updated so that whichever malware becomes recognized in the world, Anti-Malware will know how to deal with it. The program can perform a deep scanning, work in on-run protection mode, and be a security measure for safe Internet browsing.
• Know right before you get scammed. The scareware schemes work only because of people’s ignorance. You don’t need to be a hacker or even an advanced user. Just take a simple course on Internet surfing from someone more experienced in it.
• Don’t visit dubious websites and avoid clicking on ad banners whatsoever. You can hardly encounter malicious advertising, which scareware surely is, on trustworthy websites like Google, Youtube or Facebook. It’s not that you should limit your surfing to these three sites, but they can serve as an example of a trustworthy website appearance. As soon as you see ad banners popping up all around you, flashing and glaring, proceed with great caution if you need to.
• Install ad-blocking software. It goes as an extension to your browser that blocks advertising banners from rendering. It might save you a lot of nerve cells.
• If you happen to buy a scareware product, make sure you remove it as you usually remove an application. In Windows, press Start > Settings > Apps > Apps & Features Choose the app you want to remove, and then select Uninstall. After removing the scareware, carry out an antivirus scan to get rid of any accompanying malware.

The post Scareware: How to Identify, Prevent and Remove It appeared first on Gridinsoft Blog.

What is Android:TrojanSMS-PA?

As I said, Android:TrojanSMS-PA detection name is one of hundreds used by an antivirus tool that is built into the Huawei smartphones and tablets. Since the company ships the devices with their own builds of Android, that lack Google apps, you may have used this antivirus without even knowing. And there, actually, can be the reason for such a detection.

Back in 2020, Huawei was prohibited from using Google apps on their smartphones. With time, the co created their own ecosystem of apps, and apps developed by Google are now obviously treated as third-party. According to user reports, the Android:TrojanSMS-PA detection name often points at the Google app itself.

Is Android:TrojanSMS-PA false positive?

Most probably, the Android:TrojanSMS-PA detection is a false positive. Such things happen to pretty much any antivirus program – a mistake of the heuristic system or issues with certificate recognition. The chance that Huawei would make their antivirus to intentionally detect the Google app is miserable, especially since it will cause a storm of detections on user devices.

However, there is always a chance that the Android:TrojanSMS-PA detection is a real virus active in your smartphone. Most common malware samples for mobile devices include spyware, stealers, adware and fleeceware. To clear this up, you can investigate the detection yourself, or scan your device with a different mobile antivirus software.

What should I do?

First and foremost, don’t panic. Malware for smartphones is mischievous yet non-destructive. You are not likely to see your files encrypted, deleted, or bad things like that. Still, having your personal data stolen is nothing good either. That being said, let’s see how to understand whether the Android:TrojanSMS-PA is malicious, or just a false detection.

Once you see this detection, go to the Security app, and check what app it detects as TrojanSMS-PA. If it is a Google app – well, that is definitely a false positive. People already discuss the situation on various forums, and the only thing you need is ignore it and wait for a fix.

But when you see a strange file, or an app from a third-party source detected as TrojanSMS-PA, that’s the time to stay on the alarm. As I said, this detection is not 100% false positive, and in this configuration it may be a sign of a serious malware running in your system. I recommend using Trojan Scanner – a free and effective antivirus program, that will clear up the security situation on your smartphone.

The post What is Android:TrojanSMS-PA detection? appeared first on Gridinsoft Blog.

Let me remind you that we also wrote that Tencent and Chinese police conducted a joint operation against game cheat developers.

The mhypro2.sys problem has been known since at least 2020, and information security experts have long been appealing to manufacturers of anti-cheat systems in general, since most of these solutions work at the ring 0 level, which can hardly be considered safe.

In the case of mhypro2.sys, the appeals of experts had no effect, the code signing certificate was not revoked, and therefore the program can still be installed on Windows without raising alarm. Worse, since 2020, two PoC exploits are available on GitHub at once and a detailed description of how you can use anti-cheat from user mode to read/write kernel memory with kernel mode privileges, terminate specific processes, and so on.

A recent Trend Micro report states that hackers have been abusing the driver since July 2022 and using it to disable properly configured security solutions.

Analysts write that in the example they studied, the attackers used secretsdump and wmiexec against the target machine, and then connected to the domain controller via RDP using stolen administrator credentials.

The first action taken by the hackers on the compromised machine was to transfer mhyprot2.sys to the desktop along with the malicious executable kill_svc.exe that was used to install the driver. The attackers then downloaded the avg.msi file, which in turn downloaded and executed the following four files:

1. logon.bat – launches HelpPane.exe, “kills” the antivirus and other services, launches svchost.exe;
2. HelpPane.exe – disguises itself as the Microsoft Help and Support executable file, similar to kill_svc.exe, as it installs mhyprot2.sys and “kills” anti-virus services;
3. mhyprot2.sys – Genshin Impact anti-cheat driver;
4. svchost.exe – An unnamed ransomware payload.

In this incident, the hackers tried three times to encrypt the files on the compromised workstation, but were unsuccessful, but the anti-virus services were successfully disabled. In the end, the attackers simply moved logon.bat to the desktop, running it manually, and it worked.

By the end of the attack, the hackers uploaded the driver, ransomware, and the kill_svc.exe executable to a network share for mass deployment, aiming to infect as many workstations as possible.

Trend Micro warns that hackers may continue to use the anti-cheat module, because even if the vendor does fix the vulnerability, old versions of mhypro2.sys will still be in use, and the module can be integrated into any malware. At the same time, experts note that while code-signing modules that act as device drivers that can be abused are still quite rare.

In response to the publication of this report, well-known information security expert Kevin Beaumont noted on Twitter that administrators can protect against this threat by blocking the hash “0466e90bf0e83b776ca8716e01d35a8a2e5f96d3”, which corresponds to the vulnerable mhypro2.sys driver.

The post Genshin Impact Game’s Anti-Cheat Driver Is Used to Disable Antiviruses appeared first on Gridinsoft Blog.

Trojan Killer offers you the essential antimalware software functionality, together with the system recovery abilities. It will perfectly fit your PC regardless of its configuration and modernity. Let me show you the key advantages of Trojan Killer.

1. Portability

Most antivirus software is not capable of curing other PCs, unless you purchase a licence that suits several computers. With Trojan Killer, it is possible to scan&clean all computers you need. The program can be mounted on a USB drive, giving you the ability to carry all benefits in your pocket. It has the same efficiency and same amount of features as the static version.

Another advantage of the portable version is that it can easily circumvent the blockages from the malware running in the infected system. The latter usually prevents the launching of installation files of antimalware programs. Since Trojan Killer Portable is about to be installed on the other PC, nothing can stop you from wiping out malware.

2. Perfect detection capabilities

Trojan Killer has a triune detection system that is capable of successfully spotting malware of any sort. Regardless of how new the malware is, or if it is masked through various methods, Trojan Killer will be capable of its detection. Let’s review each part of this system to understand what we are talking about.

Database-backed detection is what all antivirus software began from and still relies upon. The hashes of files on the disk are compared with a database of malware hashes, so the match means that there is malware. It is great for detecting past threats that were already recognised. However, to spot and remove novice hazards, or ones obfuscated for stealthiness, database detection is less than great.

Heuristic detection is what helps the anti-malware program to detect what is out of databases’ sight. This mechanism analyses the behaviour of the apps and can detect the malicious thing by the actions it does. Calls to the hardware drivers, unusual network connections, commands executed in the console – all these things are the point of increased concern. And heuristic engines analyse them precisely, to allow Trojan Killer to spot and stop all possible hazards.

The neural network is a novel way of malware detection. The ability of neural networks to detect impossibly small signatures makes it perfect for malware detection. Even the most concealed malware that may pass through the previous two systems will likely be distinguished and marked by a neural network. It is a very long and uneven process to study the neural network properly. It is also worth noting that they show the best efficiency only when applied together with database and heuristic systems.

3.Browser reset functionality

Certain species of malware, generally the ones that manipulate the contents in your browser, have very unpleasant remnants. Even after their removal, you’d possibly face issues with opening some pages and general browser malfunctions. That happens because the malware we mentioned above changes the settings of your browser for its own purposes. Fortunately, Trojan Killer is able to wipe these changes by resetting your browser settings. Just several clicks – and you will not see the effects of malware activity anymore.

4. System recovery capabilities

Aside from the damage to networking facilities, malware almost always deals significant damage to the operating system. In particular, it often touches HOSTS files, registry, Group Policies, and Task Scheduler. When a malicious thing is gone, it is essential to get rid of all of the junk it left after itself. Trojan Killer is able to fix the system parts automatically when it detects malware-related changes. Additionally, you can reset HOSTS files on demand, by pressing just a single button in a Reset Browser Settings window.

5. High resource efficiency

“Big” antivirus software is similar to a system in the system. They are huge, with a large number of modules and high integration into the system. Moreover, each of these modules requires CPU time and RAM amount. In total, that results in a constant load of your hardware. It is an exceptionally unpleasant case for laptops, which can have their battery drained pretty fast.

Trojan Killer is tiny and does not make any serious impact on the PC performance. Even during the scans, it does not take a lot – you will be able to use the system as nothing happens. Regardless of such an economy, it remains fast and effective in its scanning.

6. Often database updates

Even the sharpest knife becomes dull with time. The same story is about detection databases – and two other detection modules present in Trojan Killer. To retain the program’s efficiency, the automated system collects the most modern malware samples and updates the database each hour. The analysts’ team, on the other hand, is doing its best to bring qualitative updates for the heuristic detection system and neural network functionality.

7. Easy interface

Antivirus programs should be easy to use for everyone, regardless of the level of computer knowledge. That rule is relevant for any “essential” application. Trojan Killer offers an extremely simple interface that is pretty easy to deal with even for a beginner. Main and the most demanded functions are placed on the main screen; the settings tab is not overloaded and easy to browse through. The Reset Browser Settings window is available as an internal window, and also as a separate application.

8. Full-time tech support

Sometimes, even the most skilled users struggle to make a proper decision. The support team of Trojan Killer will help you to solve the issue. Problems with PC, suspicious activity, or any questions about the program functionality – you are welcome to ask the support team. They will gladly help you any time, until the problem is solved.

9. 15-day free trial

To test the program capabilities and ensure that Trojan Killer is what you are looking for, you can get a 15-day trial period with full program functionality. You will be able to repair your system, reset browsers, and perform 4 different types of system scans just as with a paid licence. Over two weeks of testing is more than enough to get all benefits of the program and make a decision.

10. Affordable price

There are several different licence types for Trojan Killer, but all of them are way cheaper than their counterparts. For half a year, you need to pay only $24, and the annual licence will cost you $36. Two years of Trojan Killer usage cost $47 – making the monthly price twice as cheap compared to the half-a-year licence. Additionally, you can get a discount on certain notable dates – and make the program even cheaper for you. Try it out and see how the original antivirus looks like.

The post 10 Reasons to Choose GridinSoft Trojan Killer appeared first on Gridinsoft Blog.

But among the simplified solutions, that offer only essential anti-malware functionality, it is also hard to make a decision. We recommend you to use GridinSoft Anti-Malware, and let me give you 15 reasons to choose it.

1. High detection rates

The most important quality of any anti-malware program is its ability to correctly detect and remove the hazards. It can have a bunch of other positives, but the main function is obliged to be as good as possible. And GridinSoft Anti-Malware shows perfect protection against a wide range of threats present in the wild. All kinds of adware, trojan viruses, malicious scripts and questionable programs – they shall not pass the security layer created by GridinSoft Anti-Malware. Such a high level of protection is available thanks to the advanced scanning system and diligent work of malware analysts, who upload the database updates as often as possible.

2. Advanced detection systems

GridinSoft Anti-Malware manages 3 different detection mechanisms – the “classic” database-backed detection, heuristic engine and neural network. The former does not need any introduction, since it is the alpha and omega of all antiviruses. But let’s have a closer look at heuristic and neural detection mechanisms.

3. High resource efficiency

PC performance is an object of concern of the vast majority of users. Installing any software that is about to run in the background means risking to have significant decrease of the PC speed. GridinSoft developers paid additional attention to that aspect, in order to make their program as resource-efficient as possible, even having your proactive features on. You will barely feel the impact of this program running in the background – it takes almost less than 1% of CPU power and ~300 MB RAM. Compared to things like Windows Defender, which consumes 5-10% of CPU and up to 1GB RAM, it is literally nothing.

4. Simple interface

Have you ever struggled with a huge number of tabs in the programs? Some of the antiviruses, especially ones that have a lot of unnecessary functions, have this problem. But GridinSoft Anti-Malware is the other story – it offers a clear interface with all important functions and information available at the glance. Functions and settings are logically divided on categories, corresponding to their purpose, and the detailed info (scan logs or update changelogs) is available in just several clicks.

5. Full-time support

Having problems on your PC? Think something is broken inside of your operating system? Struggle to make a decision in our program? Support specialists will help you to solve any case, at any moment of time. GridinSoft Anti-Malware licence features the 24/7 multilingual tech support, so you will definitely receive the proper answer. For tough cases, the manager can offer extended support – via the remote connection. Such an approach will definitely help you to solve the issue.

6. High compatibility

Even in 2022, people still use old operating systems for certain reasons. Some people don’t want to update because of the hardware requirements, some dislike the new appearance of the OS, and some users don’t want to lose the compatibility with the programs they use. GridinSoft Anti-Malware will perfectly fit all of these categories, offering the support for a wide range of Windows versions. It will successfully run on Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8/8.1, 10 and 11 – a timeline of more than 20 years of software development. And on any of these versions the security tool from GridinSoft will show an excellent efficiency.

Moreover, GridinSoft Anti-Malware also works perfectly with other antimalware and antivirus software. For people who want to have several security solutions running together, it will be a perfect addition. You will never see any detection conflicts, and the modest resource consumption will not interfere with the other programs’ efficiency.

7. Setup flexibility

Despite the easy-to-use interface, GridinSoft Anti-Malware offers a wide range of settings that will fit different users. Scanning schedule, use of heuristic rules during scans, ability to adjust the startup settings, and manage the active modules of the proactive protection – that will be enough to personalise the experience as much as possible. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is designed with an idea to give the users the right to choose the program mode it wants.

8. Reasonable price

Most of the antivirus solutions contain a huge amount of functions, which are about to be paid for regardless of the fact you use them or not. When it comes to GridinSoft Anti-Malware, you pay only for the functions you will definitely use – exactly, the genuine anti-malware software features. For an annual licence, you have to pay only $40 – or less, if you will use a discount that is available multiple times a year. You will not find the same functionality & efficiency combination for this money.

9. Nothing excessive

In the previous paragraph, we mentioned the services and features available in GridinSoft Anti-Malware. It does not feature keychain, additional traffic controlling or VPN service. In the developers’ opinion, users can decide if they want to use one, and must not obligatory pay for them. On the other hand, you receive a full bunch of various features that are really needed for the anti-malware software – a full-featured proactive protection, quarantine, and various tools for system recovery. Isn’t that a fair swap?

10. Constant database updates

The efficiency of anti-malware programs is measured by their detection quality. That is, exactly, the most important part of the program – low detection capabilities make it just a useless app. But even the most advanced detection databases & mechanisms are getting outdated with time, and their detection rates fall inexorably. New malware appears each day, and to retain the effectiveness, you should update the databases as often as possible. GridinSoft Anti-Malware receives database updates each hour, so even the most fresh malware will be taken into account pretty quickly.

11. Trial and Demo mode

Any purchase must be rated correspondingly, after weighting all pros and cons for yourself. That’s why trial mode in GridinSoft Anti-Malware makes it possible for you to test it from all aspects. 6 days of full functionality within the trial licence is enough to feel all qualities of this program, get familiar with the interface and have some real-world testing.

But even in the situation when you did not purchase the licence, you are still able to scan your device for threats in Demo mode. It is able to detect the malware, but cannot remove it, and lacks proactive protection features. This mode provides the testing capabilities as well – but can’t show you the real potential of GridinSoft Anti-Malware.

12. System applications repairing capabilities

Modern malware pretty often exploits the operating system vulnerabilities in order to conduct its activities. When it is removed, the touched system elements remain damaged, and it is very important to fix them. Contrary to the third party apps, that may be changed as well, modified system elements may cause errors and even system failure. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is able to effectively find and repair the system elements that were damaged by malware, saving you from manual recovery.

13. Browser reset functions

Nasty malware types that show us advertisements of different forms, like adware and browser hijackers, generally act through modifying your browser settings. They invade each web browser you have on your device, to show you the ads wherever you go. Even after removing viruses from your PC, your browsers will keep the changes made by malware. GridinSoft Anti-Malware has the ability to revert these changes in all browsers in a single click – thanks to the Reset Browser Settings function. A single click – and your browser is as good as new.

14. Multi-layer on-run protection

On-run protection, also known as proactive protection, is a very useful feature that controls the application activity on your computer. Each launch of the application and each opened folder are monitored by the anti-malware program. GridinSoft Anti-Malware checks-up processes and directories with a three-part system – databases, heuristics and neural network. Using all three systems makes it impossible to miss the malware – it will definitely be detected and defused, even if it was not active at the moment.

The On-Run Protection function in GridinSoft Anti-Malware can have two additional functions. Besides the basic scanning of all activities, it also can act as a network monitor, and removable devices scanner. The former will be very effective in blocking the unwanted websites, that may expose your PC to a hazard. Removable Device scanning is a function that checks all of the connected storage devices, both removable drives or USB flash drives. That will safeguard your computer from the intrusion from most of the typical malware spreading vectors.

15. Quarantine

Sometimes, neither the program nor the user is sure that the detected file is dangerous. To give the time gap and chance to choose, GridinSoft Anti-Malware features threat quarantine. That is, exactly, the separated area on the disk, where the blocked files are stored until the decision is made, or the 30-day term is expired. Items in Quarantine are impossible to launch and interact with the rest of the system, so even dangerous stuff does not put your system into a hazard.

Try out GridinSoft Anti-Malware

You have seen a lot of arguments that prove the efficiency and convenience of GridinSoft Anti-Malware. This security tool has great functionality for a reasonable price. The features this program has make it really superior to its contemporaries. Having a try of this application for 6 days will surely dot all the i’s. And the support managers will be glad to answer any of the questions regarding the program functionality.

The post 15 Reasons to Choose GridinSoft Anti-Malware appeared first on Gridinsoft Blog.

Just read recent news headlines from the IT field. A whole cyber war even unfolds for the first time in history, to say the least. Ransomware ravages like never before. Various banking trojans lurking out there in the corners of the internet and phishing, smishing, and other species from flora and fauna of the cyber world — all for your data. But no, we are not on the brink of a cyber apocalypse. Yet.

Now seriously. You have first to understand one and the most obvious thing is that you can’t just use all the technologies now available without someone parallelly trying to exploit it for illegal purposes. Cybercrimes all around the world have become much more lucrative illegal activities than robbing banks or selling drugs on the corner of the street.

Old and new kinds of crimes together with workplaces steadily moving onto the internet to enjoy more wide and bright possibilities. And you as a diligent digital citizen should first of all attend to your security and safety in the particular environment. The irony is also that you can be just one click away from some ransomware operator or banking trojan. Of course, you should be ready in case they show an interest in you.

Below, we explain in every particular reason example why it’s most crucial to have an antivirus solution on board in case some cyber threat does arise.

Companies and enterprises save up on money with antiviruses

Let’s just say they can save up a lot if it’s a ransomware attack that has been thwarted, for example. But talking about more down-to-earth threats, a company can avoid much fewer problems with its cybersecurity by simply having some antivirus in place.

We can say these even without any statistics to mention that daily, workers at some companies can encounter up to ten on average malicious emails and it’s good cyber training of your employees if they can recognize the threat and report it to your IT team. But why do cybercriminals still do what they do even if we seem to know everything about their moves?

It’s because the human factor is still in place and it will be unless we replace human workers with robots. But where a worker has missed the signs of maliciousness the antivirus solution surely won’t miss. It’s a nice kind of balance when your workers have the general knowledge of potential cyber threats paired together with reliable and trustworthy antivirus solutions.

To compare sums of money you could spend on remediating the consequences of a cyber security breach and those spent on buying a license for an antivirus solution they vary significantly. On the internet, you can find various statistics on how much this or that company lost in revenue due to cyber-attacks and their consequences. To add here companies and enterprises are becoming more common targets for threat actors than individuals.

Apart from your computer other pieces of network hardware need antivirus security protection as well

Even if you own a small company it also needs protection not only of its PCs but other usual components of workplaces like VPNs, network attached storage (NAS), servers and remote desktops. All of them are important parts of any company’s workflow and when one of the elements is out of the flow it significantly can hinder the operations.

Basically, on any entry point you should have the security protection in place as no one can see and it’s hard to predict in advance where the next strike will happen. If some threat actors have a more than usual interest in any potential victim they will find their ways, but in vain as they should face the counterattack by an antivirus solution.

To add more to the paragraph it needs to be said that in recent years due to the pandemic when everything massively went online one of the most popular attack vectors became remote desktop. Because of its functions, remote desktops prove themselves to be quite an ideal thing for threat actors to exploit. The most well-known instances of cyber attacks on companies involved the abuse of remote desktops.

However one must add that an antivirus alone can’t guarantee one hundred percent protection if there are no general cyber hygiene rules your employees follow. You also need to have firewalls so that threat actors cannot easily get access to you via the already mentioned remote desktop. Make it for everyone a rule to have strong and complex passwords as well as usernames.

You also need antivirus protection at home

Don’t forget about the security of your home PC. With the beginning of the pandemic, many people started working remotely and usually individuals are easier targets for threat actors meaning more attacks are specifically directed at them. The most common thing threat actors target their victims with is phishing emails.

These malicious and fake correspondences often have attachments with malware that will initiate the next stage of an attack like delivering the payload of some banking trojan. Sometimes threat actors attach malicious documents like spreadsheets with malicious macros in place. Once a victim opens the received email the embedded malware gets into action.

And not only malicious emails lurking out there for their victim, but other kinds of no less nefarious entities trying their best at succeeding in their actions like info stealers, keyloggers, and browser hijackers; you just could have no less.

Antivirus can protect you from potential dangers coming from removable devices

Quite a portion of threats can also come from removable devices that so many of us still use. Removable media pose much threat to users and their devices even more than the other devices under threat can. Not only that the removable devices often the carriers of several malware they can also be targets for threats from infected PCs.

Because they are a very convenient choice for cybercriminals and also because of their more obvious weakness and susceptibility against malware and viruses, many companies and even individuals already said no to removable media. Many large enterprises and companies have explicitly forbidden the usage and storage of any work-related data on them.

But the complete ban on these particular devices doesn’t concern all average home users and there are still many people who prefer to store their valuable and sensitive information on removable media. For many people, cloud storage seems more unreliable than removable devices.

In any way you happen to use these devices don’t forget to make regular scans of them as well. Have your antivirus solution enabled once you insert the device into your computer because the infection gets to you from the removable media once you connect it to your machine? An antivirus will be in a much need especially if you use someone else’s removable media.

The rule is just simple any removable media you connect can be infected and then it can infect you, or the case might be that you connect your own or someone else’s removable device to your computer and you already have some infection, then all data on that inserted device is also under more than sure danger.

If it’s some ransomware that has begun encryption of your files then when you insert a removable device files on it will also get encrypted. And these are more reasons to add to why you need an antivirus solution.

Antivirus helps you to prolong your computer’s lifespan

It should be an obvious thing to understand that without getting your computer infected the machine can no longer serve you. It won’t need a repairman to mend the consequences of the malware attack. You won’t waste any time bringing your computer from service and back, and before that spend some time figuring out by yourself the first symptoms of malware infection.

Not to mention that malware causes some additional troubles like stealing or distorting your data, messing with your browser work, or even exploiting your stolen credentials to conduct further assaults on other people.

Specialists from the field say it is that having an antivirus on board will make your computer live longer and work with no less efficiency. It’s understandable because when malware gets onto your machine it can’t but interfere with the normal workflow of the targeted computer.

If it’s a wiper kind of malware once it gets onto the machine it completely makes the computer wholly inoperable, because how are you supposed to work with a computer that has all its hard disk wiped? The other kinds of malware work no less diligently.

But all the negative consequences of malware infection can be remediated when you have an antivirus in play. Some of the products offer you not only standard things like detection, deletion, and quarantine of files but the restoration of your browser settings, and Windows host files. So that if you have post-infection symptoms on your computer you can mitigate that.

Conclusions

Beyond the reasons mentioned, the antivirus can also offer you additional functions like parental control, website access control, and blocking spam/ads. Some of these offers can play an important role in your cyber world. Many antivirus vendors these days include such optional variants in the main package and it’s hard not to say that parents need parental control options with today’s ubiquitous use of the internet particularly because of schools taking place online.

No less importance can be assigned to blocking spam/ads options when these things misclicked often lead to a full-blown infection. Another thing spam – when an antivirus program can detect if an email is malicious and prevent the cyber security breach. You don’t always notice something that can be an obvious sign of danger for specifically designed for the matter software. If you can click away an ad that suddenly pops up on your screen and be safe, but with spam you can be tricked into believing you received a package tracking email from Amazon, for example.

With all that being said it’s also right to say that even if you are confident with yourself and your actions in the cyber world sometimes it’s better to give the task to detect and remove something specifically here to help you with these.

The post Antivirus Is Important! Advantages Of Using appeared first on Gridinsoft Blog.

How Does Phishing Work?

Phishing attack relies on people’s inattentiveness or recklessness. Most of the cases when people fall victim to phishing are related to the fact that they ignored a strange appearance of the site and the security alarm of their browser or antivirus. So, what is phishing attack and what are the main methods¹?

Since the majority types of phishing attacks happen online, the main place of robbery is the Internet, exactly – the websites. Crooks try to get the information they want in any possible way, and they are getting more and more ingenious with the rise of the potential price of their target. Pay attention to the difference between phishing and pharming and do not try to confuse.

Not all phishing attacks aim at credentials. If we talk about phishing aimed at corporations, it is likely the part of a bigger cyberattack. And oftentimes, such a phishing example baits the user to open the attached file or the website.

**These steps lead to malware installation, or injection of the downloader – precursor for further malware. This or other way, phishing hacker is done through confusing the victim with fake statements and disguise.

There are 6 main types of phishing. In fact, they are actual for almost any online scam. Remember them to understand when someone tries to fool you.

1. You are not expecting the message. Phishing attack may start from different points, but most often it is an email message or one in social networks. If you don’t expect the message from a stranger, or seeing some shocking content – check twice before following it.
2. The sender does not look familiar to you. For sure, not each stranger who texts you in any form tries to involve you into a phishing. However, they must be the object of concern. If there is some shocking statement, or a very generous offer – it is better to refuse and block the sender.
3. Dubious website address. If the link you followed opens a site that looks like something well-known – for example, Facebook or Twitter, but has the URL like “mysite.od317cball.com.in” – you are definitely looking at the phishing page and it is trap phishing. Crooks can counterfeit the login page, attempting to lure your login info. However, they never can get the original URL*.
4. Strange message text. Typos, wrong order of words, punctuation mistakes, overly poor English level – all these things show that the sender is not pretty qualified. If it simultaneously tries to mimic the support of a well-known company – for example, Microsoft or Amazon – it is definitely a scam attempt.
5. Too generous offer for just nothing. Some of the least dangerous phishing, which, however, is still unwanted, offers you to take part in a giveaway after a short survey. In that survey you must specify certain personal information, which then will be used by crooks for profit. You may even receive some prizes – but their value will definitely be lower than the price of your data.

In fact, there is a possibility that cybercriminals may counterfeit the website URL. For that, they must have full control over the network router you use for Internet access.

Such phishing attack example may be classified as man-in-the-middle: being amidst the data flow from your device to the Web, they counterfeit the packages the server sends to you and substitute them with ones that contain a site copy.

!!Therefore, you will see the site copy which is handled by crooks with an “original” URL. There will be the only difference – the web browser will not be able to establish a secure connection (with HTTPS certificate), and you’ll see the red lock icon at the left side of the URL bar. That is the only sign of such a tricky fraud. Fortunately, it is almost absent due to the high complexity.

NOTE: URL: Phishing is the name of the detection that you can observe while browsing the web. This name is used by Avast, Avira and AVG antiviruses to describe potentially dangerous sites².

Short review of Phishing attack

Basic Types of Phishing

There are over a dozen different types of internet phishing. Almost all online scam nowadays may be considered phishing – just because these days the key point of interest is the information. Hence, fraudsters have to be very inventive to keep going – otherwise, they have nothing to do in the modern cybercrime world.

For sure, phishing is less effective than attacks with advanced persistent threats or other malware that may bring the crooks tons of valuable information. But having a huge rollover of more basic info – such as bank card info, email address, location and so on – may bring a lot of money as well. Let’s have a look at the phishing types that are recognized by the majority of the cybersecurity community.

1) Email Phishing Attack

Classic thing that is considered one of the most widespread ones these days. Contains a link or an attachment with malicious contents. The link may lead you to the counterfeited site (online banking page, social network, etc), or to the downloading of something you don’t really want to see on your computer. The attachment in phishing emails usually contain a malicious script that initiates the malware downloading.

This form of phishing became so widespread due to the price-to-profit ratio. Sure, the next type – spear phishing – is much more efficient, but costs much more. Possibly, the latter may have a much bigger price/profit, but it is still more expensive. Phishing campaigns are effective when massive, and not each cybercrime gang can afford spending hundreds of dollars on each victim. 

How To Prevent Email Phishing:

Yet it is so easy to commit, it is quite hard to avoid it. Crooks may use email databases they got somewhere, or spam the mailboxes randomly, hoping that somebody will eat the lure. Of course, the decrease in the “quality” of the used emails makes the exact phishing much less efficient. The only thing I can advice you about avoiding the email phishing is the steps to make it useless. Learn the top 10 popular ways to recognize and avoid Phishing, what to do, how to protect yourself and your PC.

• Don’t open the attachments. Never open the attached files, as well as enable any add-ons (macros in MS Office, in particular) until you are sure that it is something you are really waiting for.
• Don’t touch the links. Contrary to the attached file, links may spread zero-click malware – one that may be injected just after opening the compromised website.
• Create a separate email for using it at dubious places. The best way to minimize the possible spam flow to your main email is to reroute it on the second one. Use this account in places you don’t trust, or not sure about. Having less spam is already the way to minimize the possibility of malware injection.

2) Spear Phishing Attack Meaning

So, what is spear phishing attack? More precise form of phishing is sometimes called “targeted phishing”. Victim receives a message in the social network, or on the email that looks like one it waits for. It may be a delivery notification or the information about the ticket it purchased the day before. The “main content” of the spear phishing is attached email or a link to the external website. That is quite similar to what we see in a classic email phishing. However, targeting the companies usually means using much more sophisticated text – just to make the victim believe that the message is legit. 

Besides the messages on the email, spear phishing attack may take place in social networks. Some of the companies actively communicate with customers through Facebook or Twitter. These networks are perfect for crooks to spread the targeted malware payload. Disguising it as a bug report or a request about the wholesale supplies is quite easy, and the effects will surely be worth spending money and time. Preventing spear phishing attack is quite complicated, but still possible if you follow all rules.

• Always keep in mind what you expect to receive on the work email. Crooks may suppose what exactly are your contragents, but never able to say for sure until they have insider information. Seeing excessive or misleading information means that someone is wrong, and that is the reason to check it all twice.
• Don’t share the information about your company’s activity. Since spear phishing is often used against companies, it is obvious that crooks will try to find the basic information for that fraud during OSINT events. Spreading the information in social networks or elsewhere is literally collaborating with cybercriminals.
• Instruct the employees to check the sender’s email address diligently before interacting with it. Still, cybercriminals are not able to create a 100% counterfeit of official email addresses. Reviewing who sent the message will stop the fraud at the very beginning.

3) Whaling Phishing Attack

The specimen of spear phishing, it aims at luring some specific information under the disguise of a notable person. Your boss, the founder of your company, mayor of the city you are living in – they may choose among different celebrities. However, their target is almost always the same – to trick you to follow the link. This phishing generally aims at your personal info rather than at malware installation (but variations are still there!). The link in the document may lead you to the fake online banking site, or the page where you will be offered to specify some sensitive information. 

How To Prevent Whaling Phishing:

Avoiding this kind of phishing generally relies on common sense. Why will a certain celebrity contact you personally, especially with the ask to transfer a money sum? The answer is obvious – that couldn’t happen in normal circumstances, and someone rather tries to scam you. If scammers try to mimic your boss, or someone from your company using the email address you have never seen before – ask him/her personally if they send a message to you. 

4) Barrel Phishing Definition

A pretty inventive case of phishing that aims at malware installation. It consists of two messages that arrive within ~10 minutes. First, you receive a message that looks like a security recommendation, sent from the software vendor.

This message says that there is a security flaw you must fix as soon as possible, and below there is a patch installation you need to run. However, the first message does not contain this file. It goes in the second one – together with the apologies about failing to attach the file to a previous message.

Such maneuvers are needed to scatter your attention. When you see the sequential narration – you usually trust it. Even though software vendors never send the express-patches on the email, or at least notify about the ongoing mailing. The attachment may be an executable file – the malicious code will run exactly after you launch that app. And you will not even raise the suspicion – the message looks legit, doesn’t it?

Steps To Prevent Barrel Phishing:

Assuming that barrel phishing is an exotic form of a spear phishing, things you have to do are pretty much the same. Be aware of all untrustworthy messages and check the senders’ address. However, there are also several things that are specific to this type of phishing.

• Update your software manually. You will not be exposed to any kind of such pseudo-updates when you have already installed the latest version. 
• Check for the actual news on the software you use. When there is really an exploit that may cause a significant danger – the vendor will likely publish a note about it on the official website. If you are not confident – it is better to contact the tech support and ask about the latest actual version and latest vulnerability patches released.

5) Angler Phishing Attack

A pretty new type of phishing, that aims at social networks. Crooks disguise themselves as tech support employees that help customers with their compliances. They mimic the support of banks, restaurants, large grocery stores, et cetera. When crooks see a compliance or hatemail addressed to the company, they ask you to contact them in DM. There, you will receive an offer to explain the problem and specify some basic info – name, surname, city, contact email and so on.

This information already gives a lot to the crooks. They may sell it or use this info for further spamming campaigns. The databases that consist of this information cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars. However, that fraud may sometimes obtain a more dangerous form.

Tips To Prevent Phishing Angler:

If the pseudo-support is lurking under the guise of bank support, it may lure different banking details – card number, expiration date and CVV/2 code, for example. That data set is enough to get all the money from your bank account in just one transaction. Another dangerous action you may meet is the offer to follow the link. This action will likely throw you to the malicious website – with malware downloading, ads, or any other unwanted things.

• Check the username. Until the crooks manage to hijack the support account, they will use the account with similar, but not the same name. Staying diligent will make your life easier – and not just in cyberspace.
• Never follow the links from strangers. Tech support will not likely send you links of any sort, so seeing one, especially to the site that is not related to the establishment.
• Don’t tell the personal details to the people you are not sure about. Tech support can barely explain why they need your phone number or date of birth. And they exactly never need it – until we are talking about the fraud.

6) Social Media Phishing

This is the common name of any phishing that takes place in social networks. The enormous mass of people that use Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Reddit makes these networks an extremely prospective field for phishing. Social media phishing supposes luring people into following the links, which lead to malicious sites.

Crooks may redirect you to doorway sites, to malware downloading, or to the page that will try to lure your credentials. The text before these links may contain some shocking information – about the death of the celebrity, new disease or other thing that can attract attention.

Avoiding Social Media Phishing:

Since social media phishing is not targeted and generally committed by non-qualified crooks, it is quite easy to avoid this fraud. Strange texts, abundance of capital letters, absence of any reaction to your reply from the sender – all these things definitely point at the fact that it must not be trusted.

• Don’t follow the links sent to you by strangers. An already mentioned axiom that will never stop being effective.
• Check the news by yourself. If the information behind the link looks plausible, it is better to check it manually, by googling.

7) Website Phishing Attack

Website phishing is a site counterfeiting technique I talked about earlier. That action is to make the site maximally similar to the original – to make the user trust it. Among popular sites to counterfeit there are online banking pages, social networks, payment system sites and so on. The site may show different blanks to fill with login information, credentials from online banking, bank card information. However, the effects will likely always be the same – the message like “something went wrong, please try again later”. 

How To Avoid Phishing Websites:

They almost always appear after your action. Clicking the link in the social media, or in the email – it may be any other form of phishing. Fortunately, when you see the site, you still have a chance to go back.

• Check the URL bar. Cybercriminals may create a full-fledged copy of the website, but they will never repeat the website address. It may look like “faseboook.com” or “tvviter.com”, but you will likely see something like “mysite13.xoisqcu.in”. 
• Pay attention to who is texting you. Sure, you must not exclude that even someone familiar with you may get its account hijacked, but still – links from strangers must not be trusted.
• Check the connection type. If you are not sure about the address of the website you see, but cannot remember the correct variant, just check the HTTPS certificate. You can do this by clicking the lock icon at the left side of the URL bar. Absence of the HTTPS likely means that this site is not trustworthy, and likely a counterfeit of the original page.

8) Voicemail Phishing Attack

Voicemail phishing, or vishing, is the fraudulent use of voicemail messages to lure you for the callback. They usually mimic well-known retailers or online marketplaces. Robot-voiced message asks you to specify some delivery information by a certain phone number. This number, however, does not belong to the pretended retailer. Person on the other end of the line may ask for any of your personal details – even though it cannot be useful to proceed with the order.

Avoiding the Voicemail Phishing:

In contrast to the email spam which has phishing contents in it, voicemail phishing can be resolved by simply pressing the Reject call button. If you are not waiting for the delivery – just ignore the call. Even if it is a gift ordered to you by your significant other, the delivery firm will contact you in the other way – email or SMS. 

• Check the phone number the voicemail offers you to call. Most of the numbers used by support are published on the official website, in the Contacts tab. If the offered number is not among them – ignore it.
• Think twice before sharing personal information by phone. It is an antiquated way of communicating, which is more expensive than email forms or sites. A real support will likely call you only if something is wrong with the order – and not to ask for detailed information about your person. 

9) Credential Phishing Attack

The subtype of website phishing, which supposes the use of a site with a fake login form. That website, exactly, has only 2 pages – the one you see when you open it and the “something-went-wrong” page you will see after typing whatever in the login form. This fraud is quite effective when you don’t use the designated social network pretty often. With time, you are getting logged out from the websites, so the ask to log in will not look dubious.

How To Avoid Credential Phishing:

• Always make sure where you are going to type your credentials. Check the site URL – crooks will never use an original address, but a poor looking counterfeit instead.
• Change your passwords regularly. While it will not prevent the exact phishing, that action will definitely be useful in preventing the use of leaked credentials. It is very important to use only strong passwords because they cannot be cracked and you will not endanger your data.

10) SMS-phishing (Smishing) Attack

Smishing is an approach of a fraud that goes preliminary to the website phishing. Threat actors send you an SMS that contains the link to a counterfeited website. Since it takes place on mobile devices, the cases of malware installations are pretty rare – they mostly aim at your credentials and personal information.

Avoiding The Smishing:

It is pretty easy to recognize the fraud. Cellular operators never give the crooks’ number the naming of a well-known campaign. However, crooks still may successfully mimic the delivery boys or small shops that do not purchase the naming for their number.

• Don’t follow the links in dubious SMS. This advice is likely obvious, but it is better to repeat it once again
• Publish less information about the ongoing deliveries, orders and so on. Publishing this information equals voluntarily giving the crooks the chance to scam you. Open-source intelligence matters!

11) Clone Phishing Attack

Clone phishing is a pretty sly method that is based on complete copying of the email sent by a certain company. For such a disguise, crooks try to get one, change the links and attachments to malicious counterparts, and then just send it to you. The mechanism of malware injection/credentials stealing is the same as in all other methods.

How To Avoid The Clone Phishing: 

It is quite hard to figure out what kind of message you are looking at. However, there is a single key that never fails – the email address. Crooks can make it similar to the original sender’s address, but it is still impossible to copy it completely. Compare it diligently to uncover the fraud even before checking the attachments.

12) Wi-Fi phishing Attack

This tactic is pretty rare, and not as effective as earlier. However, it is still possible to lure something valuable. Wi-Fi phishing is the creation of a Wi-Fi access point that is named similarly to one offered by something well-known. For example, create a _Dominos_ access point in the Domino’s Pizza – the original is named the same – Dominos – and there is a big chance that someone will connect to your network instead of the original. Controlling the access point means the ability to sniff all unencrypted packages sent through it.

However, this method became much less profitable than it was in the ‘00s because of the spread of HTTPS connection spreading. HTTPS means that all packages are encrypted at the stage of sending to/from the site. Hence, you will not be able to read those packages until you get a decryption key – which is accessible only to the server and the client. Sure, there are several sophisticated approaches that allow you to counterfeit whole sites and even save the URL of the official address, but it is way much easier to try some other phishing methods.

What Happens When You Go To URL Phishing?

Following the URL that is inside of the phishing message may have different consequences. Most of the cases, you will see the counterfeit of a popular social network that offers you to log in. Some cases are about the counterfeited pages of the payment system – this time, their target is your bank card information.

The most rare cases are ones where the website you receive a link to contains the exploit kit. Opening it means zero-click malware injection – and you have nothing to do with it. While other situations are reversible, this one can possibly be stopped only by rapid closing the site.

However, the bad situations with exploits are very easy to prevent. Browser vulnerabilities that allow such a situation to happen are pretty rare, and usually patched as fast as possible. Hence, keeping your web browser up to date is enough to stay safe. Online security has never been so easy!

Steps On Protection Against Phishing

In fact, most of the approaches to protect yourself against phishing attempts bear on your own. Exactly, like in the majority of malware cases. Just keep in mind that you must be diligent, and never allow yourself any reckless actions – until you value your credentials and your money, or course. Nonetheless, there is a chain of steps you can follow to increase your chances of staying safe.

• Check the sender. Seeing the message from Amazon, Walmart or Lowes, ensure that it was sent by those companies. They will never use an email address like “johndoe138037713@cock.li.
• Check the URL of the site that opened by the link. Sure, that advice is actual only for the links that you meet in not-so-trustworthy places. However, reviewing it may help you to prevent money loss or account hijacking.
• Never follow the links posted on the sites you don’t trust. Such advice is especially useful if you often guest on different online forums. Those places are rarely moderated diligently enough to prevent phishing attempts.
• Never ignore the security notifications in your web browser. Yes, sometimes they can trigger on the site you trust (for example, when its security certificate has expired), but when you see the security alarm on the site you open for the first time – it is better to stay on the alarm.
• As the continuation to the previous paragraph – use security software with Internet Security features. Such a function allows the anti-malware software to serve as an additional network shield. And when both web browser and anti-malware program alarms you about the danger – it is better to follow their guidelines.
• Filter the information you publish. Threat actors who plan and commit the spear phishing and its specimens preparing the attack basing on what you expect to receive on your email/in your DM. The less information you will give to open-source intelligence actors – the less realistic the phishing emails you receive will look like.
• Keep an eye on your personal information. Besides the OSINT methods described above, fraudsters may get precise information to prepare the attack by just buying it. Darknet is full of such offers, and until the last few weeks, there were also places to buy it in the Upper Web.

The post TOP 12 Most Dangerous Types of Phishing Attacks 2022 appeared first on Gridinsoft Blog.

From a certain point of view, antivirus programs, anti-malware software, security tools, and antivirus scanners are just synonyms. Sure, they have a lot of things in common – enough to call them somewhat the same things. However, when we talk about a scientifically correct term (cybersecurity is a science!), it is important to make a distinction between these terms.

What is an antivirus scanner?

Let’s start with the last one. An antivirus scanner is a program capable of detecting malware on your computer during the scanning process. It may apply any known detection methods – heuristics, database-backed, or neural network. This class of programs can also offer you proactive protection features – the continuous scanning of your PC in the background.

The main disadvantage of antivirus scanners is that they cannot remove malware from your computer. They check the system and notify about the present threats. Well-done scanners can also block the dangers but not remove them. Some of the Antivirus vendors offer their products for free testing – with only antivirus scanner functionality. Such vendors are Avast, AVG, Kaspersky, and McAfee.

Security tool

This term is wider, and can be used as an umbrella term for any software that is able to detect malware. Nonetheless, besides the “antiviruses”, security tools also include programs that manage to close the security breaches or enhance the overall system security. Those programs may be made manually – batch scripts, for example – or produced by cybersecurity vendors, but their purpose is single and same.

What is the difference between antivirus and anti-malware?

Antivirus and anti-malware are probably the most similar in their functionality. Both of them can scan your system and remove the threats. Both use all possible detection methods and optionally provide proactive protection. The main difference between these two types of programs hides in the recovery abilities.

By definition, antivirus programs are full-featured applications that are able to recover not only system files and elements, but also files of the third-party programs. Such function was needed in the times when viruses (as a class of malware) were dominating the market. The activity of this malware usually leads to massive failures in the software, both OS-related and external. That’s why antivirus should be able to fix all things.

Anti-malware software, on the other hand, is lightweight and has fewer functions. It is capable only of repairing the system files and all standard functions. Some say this term is just more modern than the “antivirus”. This version has a foundation, but the difference between antivirus and anti-malware is pretty strict. Lightweight programs are usually less expensive and consume fewer system resources during the scans or recovery operations.

Which security tool is the best?

That is only your choice. There is no all-purpose program that will fit anyone. Generally, I can advise you GridinSoft Anti-Malware – as a lightweight and efficient solution with a reasonable price. You can have your own opinion at this point – regarding what you need to protect with this program. And, of course, according to the thickness of your wallet.

Anyways, the primary security tool must be present anywhere in your awareness. There is no need for complicated, all-in-one antivirus programs when you know the primary ways to protect your system. When you are not clicking the strange ads online and don’t use pirated software, you already have much fewer chances to get malware on your PC. These principles must be the same essential as “do not stick your fingers in the socket” or “wash your hands”.

The post Antivirus scanner and anti-malware. What is the difference? appeared first on Gridinsoft Blog.

What is a Botnet?

Botnet is a program installed on a computer that then, being controlled remotely, uses the host device to perform certain actions on the Internet. Of course, such a program is malicious. It is introduced into the device unbeknownst to the user, acts in secret, and the work it performs is illegal.

A botnet is a network of devices on which a botnet is installed and running. Such a network is constantly growing but continues to be controlled from one center, like a flock of sheep. It’s no wonder the command and control center of such a network is called a “herder.” A botnet is a growing controllable crowd that can be given different tasks and provided with the necessary software to complete them.

Botnets are a new word in hacking since one hacker with a botnet is already an army that makes it possible to take advantage of those system vulnerabilities that appear only under a large number of requests from different sources.

How Botnets Work: Algorithms

• Email spam. Spam can have different purposes. It can be real advertising or fraud messages, and it can also be the distribution of malware. A properly configured botnet can send tens of billions of messages per day. In addition, email spam is a way for new machines to join the botnet.
• Comments – a botnet can be used to rain down comments to keep a post trending or to support one or another political opinion in society. Such bots can track, for example, YouTube videos with certain names and leave pre-written comments under them.
• DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks are massive raids by bots with requests to the server, which crashes due to overload and cannot respond to requests. Such an attack is impossible for a single hacker but possible for a botnet. DDoS attacks are usually carried out against government systems and economic or political competitors.

For example, from the latest news, Ukraine was hit by DDoS attacks from hacked WordPress sites.

• Hacking⁴ and stealing money from accounts can also be carried out using vulnerabilities exploited by botnets. Certain financial breach mechanisms allow bot-driven thefts on a huge scale. Also, targeted hacking can be carried out with the help of a powerful influx of requests, exposing the flaws in the defenses of the attacked systems.

How do Botnets Infect a Computer?

A botnet penetrates a computer according to a scenario familiar from examples of other malicious programs. Most likely, the user inadvertently opens a file attached to a spam email or clicks on that can be received both by email and in any messenger app. If so, the botnet will most likely be downloaded and installed via scripts embedded in a file or website. 

Once the botnet is deployed, it establishes contact with the control and command center and waits for the task. What is especially interesting about bots is that they are universal in their functions. As far as their permission allows, they can perform completely different actions. The botnet can be reprogrammed Signs Your Computer Is Part Of A Botnet

Signs of becoming a part of a botnet may be the consequences of other malware’s presence, hardware problems, lack of free memory, and whatnot. However, pay attention to these occurrences, especially if you register more than one of them:<

• Your computer struggles when it should idle. You can hear its fans rotate intensely, and the processor sounds like it is busy. You might want to check the Task Manager for strange processes. 
• Internet connection might seem to worsen. Nothing is wrong with the bandwidth, but the botnet might be generating dense traffic that interferes with what you are trying to do.
• The shutdown of your device might become considerably longer than usual. As if during the system update. 
• Crashes and freezings of the programs that previously worked fine can signify malicious botnet activity. Check the process that consumes a lot of your RAM. 
• Other people may complain that your mailbox or social media account distributes suspicious messages. That would be a certain hint that you are in a botnet. 

How Can a Computer be Protected from Botnet?

• First, you should have a good antivirus program. We recommend GridinSoft Anti-Malware. It is cost-effective, quick, and highly efficient. It protects you from suspicious and dangerous sites while you surf, and it also instantly removes malware if it has somehow penetrated your computer. If you have already managed to infect your computer with a bot, perform a deep scan using Anti-Malware. The bot will be found and removed.
• Take care of your passwords. On all devices where they can be set up – choose strong passwords. Pay special attention to routers and use public Wi-Fi. Remember to change your password from time to time. The password must include uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters.
• And, of course, be extremely careful when it comes to unexpected emails and messages on social networks or instant messengers. Do not download attachments or click on links contained in these messages. If you do not know the author and do not understand why the letter came to you, delete it immediately. Spam of this kind is the most common way to distribute malware.

The post What is a Botnet: Signs Your Computer Is Part Of A Botnet appeared first on Gridinsoft Blog.