Are Antivirus Software Updates So Important? | Antivirus Software | Internet Security Software

 

Are Antivirus Software Updates So Important?

Usually, once the operating system and the other programs that we will use have been installed, we frequently receive notifications for their update. Why? It is generally due to the need to:

1.    Fix different bugs, including security ones, or to add hardware compatibility.

2.    Add new features and options that were not provided in the original program.

What would happen if we don't update the software on our devices? The operating system and other programs could be left with some vulnerability and hackers could take advantage of them to infect us with malicious software and carry out harmful activities. Some of these malicious activities could be: deleting all information stored on our computer, accessing the contacts scheduled in the email, stealing personal data, obtaining our credentials (username and password, for example) and impersonating our identity in banks, shops or Credit cards.

Although apparently everything works fine, it is very important to have the latest version of the program. And while updating programs can seem like a daunting task, many devices and programs allow you to automate this activity.

Devices to update

Any program is susceptible to security flaws regardless of the device on which it is installed. For this reason, it is important to keep the software of computers, tablets, cell phones or any other smart device updated.

Programs to update

Any program is susceptible to security flaws, but especially we must pay attention to the operating system, the Antivirus Software, the Internet browser (Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, etc.) and utility programs such as word processors, spreadsheets, calculation, .pdf readers among others.

Types of malicious software

Having up-to-date software prevents the attack of programs with the ability to perform some malicious activity on the computer. These programs are also referred to as "malware". Here is a classification of them

Adware: Program automatically displays advertising to the user. Ads can be injected into other software or web pages, and in some cases, adware can even replace one existing ad with another. The adware author sells the ad space to vendors and companies, generating profit for the author. This type of malware does not usually damage the system and most of the time the user will never be able to know that they are infected.

Botnet A bot (derived from the word robot) is a malware that performs actions without the user's consent as part of an army of “zombies”. These actions include visiting websites, spreading the malware to other computers, and consulting a service (such as email servers). All bots receive their instructions from a server, and the group of infected computers is known as a botnet. Botnets are primarily used for distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, in which many infected devices are used simultaneously to overload a web service (websites, DNS, cloud services, etc.). The intention is to overload the destination server, preventing the service from being provided to legitimate users.

Crypto jacking Crypto currency mining malware. Instead of forcing infected users to pay a ransom to the attacker, the malware uses the processing power of the victim's computers, smartphones, and other electronic devices to help them generate revenue from crypto currency mining for the attacker. The victims are the most affected by the deterioration of the computer's performance, while the attacker gets all the gains. This is a fairly new attack that has been on the rise since 2017.

Keylogger Program that records all the information that is entered using the physical keyboard and sends it to the attacker for illicit purposes.

Phishing Scam in which an email user is tricked into revealing personal or confidential information that the scammer may use illicitly.

Ransomware Program that encrypts the user's files (documents and photos) and demands payment in exchange for the decryption key. Usually this type of behavior does not prevent the use of the computer, but it does make all the information on the computer inaccessible. Users who were unable to backup their files before the attack and their file encryption are left defenseless and are forced to choose between paying a high ransom or formatting the computer and losing everything. Most ransomware require payment within a short time (usually a few days).

Spam Unsolicited email, which can carry malicious content and / or fraudulent messages.

Spyware Spyware that tracks the user without their consent and informs the attacker about the user's activities, visited websites, geographical location, etc.

Trojan: It is a type of malicious software that pretends to be harmless, like the mythological wooden horse that the Greeks sent to Troy. Most of the time, it applies social engineering techniques and hides from users by pretending to be benign software, a useful tool or a game, to stay in the background and perform its malicious tasks, such as deleting files, stealing data, or install malware among others.

Virus: A computer virus is a program or code that spreads without our knowledge or permission by modifying other programs to include a copy of itself and that runs when invoked the infected program.

Worm or worm A program that replicates itself and spreads across networks. Worms can spread very quickly and disrupt system use by clogging the network. It does not need user intervention (the main difference with viruses) to try to infect other connected users.