4 Things That Help Hackers Perform Successful Cyber Attacks

While COVID-19 has disrupted the lives of many, the chaos that the pandemic has brought created various opportunities for cybercriminals. In other words, cyber attacks are on the rise, which is why you should care about your cyber security more than ever. No need to panic if you feel unprepared and do not know how to protect yourself and your devices against hackers. We have made a list of top 4 security backdoors that help hackers perform successful cyber attacks. Such information should give you clues on what to avoid and what habits you should add to your daily routine. Thus, if you are interested in learning how to prevent cyber attacks, we invite you to read our full blog post. Should you have any questions afterward, do not hesitate to leave us a message in the comments section.

According to the data gathered by HHS (The Department of Health and Human Services), cybercriminals misused the whole COVID-19 situation right from the start. Since then they have created thousands of coronavirus-related websites. Many of them are malicious. For example, some websites mimic sites of reputable institutions that provide the COVID-19 maps. While users check the statistics that they show, these web pages might misuse security backdoors like outdated software to drop malicious applications on users’ devices. Specialists noticed that some of these websites are distributing a Trojan called AZORult that can infect computers with more malware, steal various information, as well as spy on victims. Thus, if you do not want to receive such threats, we advise being extra cautious when looking for COVID-19 information.

What are the top 4 security backdoors that help hackers perform successful cyber attacks?

Security backdoors are weaknesses that can help bypass security policies and mechanisms in a system. We believe that knowing the most common weaknesses and taking measures needed to avoid them can help you increase your cyber security and learn how to prevent cyber attacks. Thus, without further ado, we present our list of top 4 security backdoors.

Outdated or unpatched applications

Updates might bring new functionality or change the look of an application, but they can also patch discovered weaknesses. Therefore, we recommend getting updates and patches even if you do not want a new look or functionality. Also, if your cyber security is important to you, we advise not to postpone and install updates as soon as they are available. Even if software creators find weaknesses before hackers do, it might not take long till cybercriminals figure them out themselves. Therefore, the longer you wait the more you put your system and privacy at risk.

Another thing that needs to be said here is that it is safer to let your computer download updates for you. If you search the Internet for patches yourself, you might end up on malicious websites that could trick you into launching malicious applications. What’s even worse, the malware inside of fake update installers might be able to exploit the vulnerabilities that you may seek to remove. This is why we believe that getting patches from reliable sources is just as important as getting them in time.

Weak passwords

Making sure that your passwords are strong might not seem that vital, but, in reality, it is one of the most important things you should take care of to ensure your cyber security. For example, an easy computer password might make it faster for you to log into your device, but it might also help cybercriminals gain access to your computer. What about your Facebook, Instagram, or Gmail passwords? If they are not strong enough, cybercriminals might be able to steal your identity and obtain sensitive information as well as gain access to your other accounts if they are connected to one another.

Not to mention that if you are using the same password everywhere, it only needs to be breached once on some website that you might not even visit often and hackers could have the means to log into all of your accounts. Sounds scary? If so, we recommend making sure that all of your passwords are unique. Besides, researchers advise using from 10 to 12 characters at least and including not only lower-case and upper-case letters but also symbols and numbers. If creating long and complex passwords for all of your accounts seems like a tiring or difficult task, you could employ a dedicated password manager like Cyclonis Password Manager that besides generating unique passwords could also store them safely and even log you into your accounts automatically.

Overtrusting emails and messages

Overtrusting spam emails and and various pop-ups that could appear while visiting unreliable websites is also a weakness. What should you do if you receive an email asking to update the login credentials of one of your accounts? The correct answer is check if the email is legitimate. To verify it, you should find out if the sender’s email address belongs to the company, which the sender claims to represent. Also, it is vital to search the message for clues such as grammatical mistakes or unusual tone that could hint that something is not right. Of course, you should also ask yourself if the request makes sense and if the company would really ask you to do something like this. If you are not sure, you can always contact it. Just make sure that you find the contact information yourself.

Lack of antimalware software

Finally, an outdated antimalware tool or the absence of such software is another security backdoor that could help hackers perform successful cyber attacks. A reputable antimalware tool can stop various malicious applications from entering your system. It can guard your device when you click on malicious links, download an infected installer, and in many other scenarios. You may think that something like this could never happen to you and we hope that it will not, but the truth is that hackers can trick even the most careful users. Thus, if you care about your computer’s safety, we recommend taking all extra precautions you can, especially, such an easy one as getting a legitimate antimalware tool. All there is to do is keep it enabled and up to date and it should take care of the rest.

To conclude, even though your attention might be shifted towards your health right now, it is vital that you do not forget to take care of your cyber security. There is tons of information on cyber attacks and safety measures, which might make you feel overwhelmed. This is why we prepared this list of the top 4 security backdoors that we believe should be taken care of first when you decide that it is time for you to increase your cyber security. If you want more tips on how to prevent cyber attacks, we invite you to read other articles available on our blog.