Criminals looking to make a quick buck are today by writing malware and there are some who make as much as $10,000 in a day.
Most people are of the opinion that malware are simple software that do nothing but simply cause a nuisance to a computer. However, today this is not the case anymore because criminals are today writing malware so that they can make loads of money.
Symantec a security firm that deals with computer security and networks, in a statement said that malware that hit Mac users last month was an example of malware used to make criminals rich. The malware is used to install ad clicking software in to the Mac’s of victims. The ads that are clicked by these software are worth very little, at times just a mere 0.8 cents a piece, but when a lot of Macs are being used to click on the ads, these cents add up to real dollars.
The malware that is used is clever in the way it works since it s not detected easily. For starters, the ad clicking software is installed in Firefox, Safari, and Chrome, where it lies dormant. What it does in the waiting period, is to wait for someone to make specific search queries in Google. Then, when a person makes a specific query the malware redirects a person to a page that the creator of the malware wants you to go.
In doing this, the malware creator ensures that they earn revenues once a click is made on an ad on the page that you have been redirected. However, in order for the malware to make real money, a lot of Mac’s need to be infected. This is so that the individual cents made by each click on ads can add up to some serious money.
Another way through which malware criminals are making money is by paying third parties to infect computers, and then these computers in turn are used to carry out bot attacks, or the victim’s computer is usually harvested for important data such as credit card info, or sensitive info, and then these are used to blackmail a person. Therefore, there are many forms of malware attacks and infections that are used today.
The malware that is also being created today is not the same as those that were previously found in computers. Malware today, are more advanced and are inserted in computer rootkits and low level drivers such that they load before the computer’s operating system. This means that even after running a scan on the computer, they cannot be detected, or removed. Therefore, criminals making money with malware are making sure that they protect their investments with advanced malware.
Computer security experts advise that the best way through which a person can be able to protect themselves from malware attacks is to always use the latest anti-virus software and perform regular scans of the computer. However, if you already have an infection that cannot seem to go away, it is wise to back up your data, and then wipe all your drives clean, and reload your operating system from a trusted media.
