Top PC Attacks You Have Never Heard Of

Even if you spend considerable time on the Internet, chances are that you haven’t heard of the following (evolved) computer virus, attacks of which can be fatal for your system (and in some cases mobile phones as well).

Smishing

Everyone knows SMS, and everyone knows Phishing; here is something merged and made to attack unsuspecting mobile phone users: Smishing (also known as SMS Phishing). When an SMS with a (suspicious) link lands in the inbox of the mobile phone and the user clicks it to get affected by the malware it has, Smishing is in action, effectively. David Rayhawk came up with the term in a McAfee Avert Labs blog.

BlueBugging

When Bluetooth technology is exploited with the expertise to access someone’s (who obviously doesn’t notice such an entry) cell phone illegally, the crime of BlueBugging has been committed. Then, the hacker can make calls, send / read SMS, tamper phonebook, record calls and what not. The act (and thus its impact) is limited only by the range, which is 10 meter.

Botnet (Zombie PCs)

When two of the most common words of technological world were merged, which are the "Robot" and "Network", the word “Botnet” came into existence. The act of sending / forwarding e-mails that contain ads, malware, or viruses from one computer (making them “Zombies”) on the Internet to the other is undertaken by the Botnets. PC virus protection sometimes is of no use at all in such attacks.

Sidejacking

When you make a website account and are thinking about the ways it could be hacked, hackers would be involved in Sidejacking. Your passwords are encrypted but the session-ids (which can contain data from the URL or an HTTP cookie) are not, which could be exploited to gain access to the targeted account. Then, the hacker can do everything which you can in your account.

Ransomware

The word suggests (to some extent) that it has something to do with a program and money as ransom. When this computer virus attacks, it locks your system and demands money to free the data as well as the system; else, they can destroy the locked data in a given time frame. Most common examples include CryptoLocker, Krotten, Gpcode.AK and Archiveus.

Pod Slurping

Pod Slurping is the term that refers to the process of copying large amount of files to the hard drive of iPod or other portable USB storage device, that too secretly. In a very restrictive time frame, the large amount of data copied could be used.

Scareware

Exploiting the ‘fear’ factor related to the malware and system optimization, Scareware tricks the system users somehow to download or purchase it (as it is disguised in the name of antimalware). Once installed as PC virus protection or system cleaner software, it comes up with a random list of malware or registry issues it found on your PC after scanning. To remove them, it asks for a fee.