BENGALURU: On the occasion of Safer Internet Day, which fell on Tuesday, network security experts have called for spreading awareness on guarding against hackers and malware.
Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer at F-Secure, told Express that the company receives an average of 2.5 lakh desktop and 9,000 Android malware samples every day. “In a recent survey, 46 per cent of the people said they take security precautions while browsing and only trust the Internet somewhat. Only 4 per cent said they trust the Internet and don’t worry much about security and privacy,” he said. “While the Internet has revolutionised the world, sometimes it really does feel like we have created a monster.”
On Tuesday, Google released a list of ways to identify phishing attempts. The list includes checking the website address for spelling errors, checking the sender’s email id for irregularities and watching out for scare tactics by websites which try to force you into entering your personal details.
A statement from Google said, “Know the telltale signs of phishing (most hijackers get into accounts through phishing). Most of us think we are too smart to fall for phishing, but our research found some fake websites worked a whopping 45 per cent of the time.”
Google found that on average, people visiting the fake pages submit their info 14 per cent of the time, and even the most obviously fake sites manage to deceive 3 per cent of the visitors. It said considering that an attacker can send out millions of messages, these success rates are nothing to sneeze at. When in doubt, visit the websites directly and not through the link in the email, it said.
Network security company Symantec also warned people against ransomware, a type of malware which infects the computer or smartphone, locks the user out and demands payment to let the user access his or her data. Symantec urged users not to give in and pay the amount.
“Paying the ransom just funds cyber criminals.... And paying the criminals does not guarantee that your files will be unlocked. Often,
the bad guys take the money but don’t unlock the system,” a statement from the company said.