9 Common types of computer viruses you need to watch
In an increasingly digital world, securing your financial data is paramount. Discover essential strategies to shield your bank accounts, credit cards, and personal details from cybercriminals.
Worms are self-replicating viruses that exploit vulnerabilities to spread from computer to computer without any human action.
Unlike other viruses, worms don’t need a host program to propagate; they operate independently.
They can rapidly infect networks and systems, potentially causing widespread damage.
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Trojan horses are cunning malware disguised as seemingly harmless programs.
Users unwittingly install them, believing they are legitimate software.
Once activated, Trojan horses can perform various malicious tasks, such as gaining backdoor access to systems, spying on user activity, or stealing sensitive data.
Rootkits are stealthy viruses that embed themselves deep within a computer’s system.
They remain hidden for extended periods, making them challenging to detect.
Rootkits provide attackers with a secret backdoor into the infected machine, granting control over software and components.
Their primary goal is to gain unauthorised access to sensitive data or launch attacks on other systems.
Logic bombs are malicious code triggered by specific conditions, such as a user logging in or a predetermined date arriving.
When the trigger occurs, the logic bomb executes its payload, which could be anything from data corruption to system disruption.
Polymorphic viruses are shape-shifters—they alter their code to evade detection.
Each time they infect a new host, they modify their appearance, making it difficult for security software to recognise them.
Macro viruses reside within macros (small programs) embedded in documents (e.g., Word or Excel files).
When users open an infected document, the virus spreads.
They often exploit vulnerabilities in office software.
File infectors target executable files (e.g., .exe, .com, .bat).
They spread when the infected file is opened or executed.
These viruses can corrupt files and compromise system stability.
Boot sector viruses infect a computer’s boot sector (e.g., master boot record or volume boot record).
They activate during system startup, even before the operating system loads.
This makes them challenging to remove.
Adware isn’t necessarily a virus but rather a type of software that displays advertising content on a computer.
While not inherently malicious, excessive adware can be annoying and impact system performance.
We prepared and take advantage of our free ‘cyber incident response form’.
This is a downloadable document which can be used to report a cyber incident in minutes while asking all the questions you need for a fast resolution.
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We offer to run a range of free cyber security tests on your behalf to give you peace of mind in your cyber security defences. Here are a few that might be of interest to you.
To run this test our cyber security experts will externally attempt to hack your systems (this is completely safe and confidential) Following this test hack our experts will send you a full report outlining how your defences handled the attack most importantly including any vulnerabilities uncovered. You can then use these results to strengthen your defences, you also have a direct line to industry experts to ask any questions and get any help to secure the gaps in your security.
A dark web scan is very simple, our experts scan the dark web for any leaked information or passwords circling that are related to your business. You will then receive a report outlining all passwords and accounts that have been previously compromised.
We suggest you secure these accounts as soon as you receive your report and look into the route of the breach as a top priority. If you are unsure how to secure these accounts effectively simple reply for extra support.
If you’d like a free dark web scan simply email us with your business URL and number fo employees now.
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From sponsoring local community football teams, to engaging with charity fundraiser days, we believe it’s important to continually strive to do good for the better of others.
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Protecting your digital data is crucial for every business and this can start with the industry-leading security we offer. The Syn-Star specialists can help with identifying any vulnerabilities within your IT systems and act accordingly to ensure cyber-attacks and data breaches are mitigated.
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We understand IT and Telecoms for your business is an investment, but it’s important to use the best resources available to enable the growth of your business. Our IT Consultancy and Virtual IT Director Services are available to support you with how you use your business technology for years to come.
Syn-Star can conduct quick and easy phishing exercises to identify people within your team who need to improve on their knowledge around fraudulent emails and how they can be alerted to these threats.
At Syn-Star, our experts can proactively work to understand exactly what software you need to support with the business operations. Whether you need a listening ear on what software to choose, or would like to seek some specialist knowledge, we’re here to help where we can.
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