A cyber attack can jeopardize your network and leave your business vulnerable if your confidential information falls into the wrong hands. It is an intentional attempt to hijack your system and even hold you hostage. Cyber attackers use hostile codes to change your data, leading to consequences like identity theft. They can access your sensitive data and use it against you.
Most Common Types of Cyber Attacks
Cybercriminals are coming up with more and more novel ways of attacking your system, but you can keep them at bay by best antivirus software. Modern antivirus software does not only prevent you from virus attacks. They have a range of other benefits and can keep away many other kinds of cyber threats. You can look up antivirus software like Total AV for more details.
Here are some of the types of cyber attacks that antivirus software can protect you from.
1Virus Attack
The primary function of antivirus software is to protect your system from virus threats, along with some other kinds of malware. Cyber attackers can release the virus to your system through specific shady sites that you might have inadvertently clicked on due to a pop-up ad.
The virus can cause immense damage to your data, and it will compromise your system’s overall performance. The antivirus software will detect and remove such threats. It will give you a warning every time you click on an unrecognized link so that you can double-check and clear the threat.
2Spyware
As the name suggests, this kind of malware uses your system to spy on you and track your online activities. It can steal all your confidential information like your bank details, credit card information, or security codes while working on your computer. They can access your passwords and log on to your private accounts. They might even use your webcam and catch you in vulnerable moments. Antivirus can detect the presence of such spyware on your computer and blocks them from gaining access to your system.
3Web Attacks
This is the most common way of falling prey to cyber-attacks. Be it for work or entertainment; you often end up logging in to various sites that leave your web activities exposed. You might use your account details to log on to some website, and the attackers immediately use your email to hack into your other accounts and steal your information.
With antivirus software, you are notified about your password protection every time you inadvertently click on a suspicious website. You can change your password or block the website accordingly.
4Spam Attacks
You could have unwittingly opened an email and accessed a link cleverly disguised as a promotion. Even if you keep ignoring those emails, they keep showing up, and just in case you click on them, a virus or malicious software finds its way to your computer, causing irreversible damage. Antivirus software will help you block these emails for good. It will also automatically redirect any suspicious emails to your spam folder, rather than letting them come to your inbox where you might access them.
Since most antivirus software programs come with firewall features, it will not just monitor what comes to your computer but also what goes out. If it detects that you are sending out information through channels that an unauthorized third party might access, it will send you a warning for that too.
5Phishing Attack
It is almost similar to a spam email, but the difference is that it looks like you have received the email from a trusted source. Not only will it give the attackers a chance to access your confidential information, but you could also end up doing something that they want you to do. For example, a link for a brochure might contain malware. Or, you could be redirected to a fake website where you log in with your details, assuming that it is perfectly safe.
Spear phishing is even more dangerous since the cyber attackers go to great lengths to research their targets. You might get personalized emails and be impressed by how a client or a service provider is giving you individual attention when in reality, it is a hacker tracking your online movements and getting the better of you.
The hacker might know you frequently contribute to charity organizations and might pose a fundraising organizer asking for funds. Antivirus software can help you create firewalls to give you all-around protection from such intense threats.
With programs like Total AV and other antivirus software, you can ensure complete cyber protection and work online with complete peace of mind.
