Top 10 Malware Myths and Facts

1
Top 10 Malware Myths and Facts
We are always surrounded by modern technology, it
is changing the way we use to do things. More
and more devices are getting connected and
instigating risk to personal data. Just a few
decades ago computer virus were considered to be
a real threat. But over the years situation has
changed they are becoming more and more
dangerous and nasty. Viruses, malware, malicious
software and other type of infectious codes are
literally wreaking havoc across the globe. They
can be created by anyone, from an experienced
hacker to a novice making them far more
dangerous than even guns. Malware is becoming
capable of executing itself and creating
multiple copies to infect millions of machines.
But still there are certain myths about them that
needs to be clarified to stay protected. Here we
list some of the most common myths and facts that
most of us have. Top 10 Malware Myths Facts
Myth 1 Computer security and software update is
the same Reality Most of us have a tendency of
ignoring software updates as we think they are
unnecessary. But let me tell you they are very
important for your computers security.
Developers release updates to address specific
security issue, as an outdated computer is more
likely to crash and attacked as opposed to one
that has been updated and fully reinforced.
People overlooking software-update prompts are
the ones who suffer with most of the system crash
and attacks. Therefore, to stay protected update
your operating system and software installed
regularly without any fail. Whenever
2
you receive a notification run an update or you
change the system settings to automatically
update. This way you can avoid missing any minor
or major update. Also Read How to Remove
Malware and Adware from Your Mac Myth 2 You
receive notifications if the machine is
infected Reality There is no such concept of
getting notification if the machine is infected.
Number of studies show that about one third of
worlds computer are infected but no one gets to
know about it. Even though no one notices as
without having enough knowledge a person cannot
tell if machine is infected by a malware or
adware. Each infection works differently some
malware slows down the system and some runs
undetected. Therefore, the best way to stay
protected is to run regular scans using an
update anti-virus , anti-malware software and use
malware removal tool. For this purpose, you can
try running Systweak Anti Malware on your Mac and
Advanced System Protector on your Windows
machine. Myth 3 Mac machines are 100
secure Reality Sometime back individuals use to
think Mac machines are secure. But that is not
the truth due to Apples low market share
attackers do not use to create threats targeting
mac machine. This made them fly low under the
radar but today things have changed. Apples
market share has grown significantly and so is
hackers inclination. A recent study shows Mac
malware attacks have grown in recent years as
compared to 2016. Must Read How To Remove
Malware and Viruses On Your Windows PC Myth 4
Trusted sites are safe Reality Whenever a
cyber-attack is witnessed it always suggested to
avoid visiting untrusted sites but no one
mentions that a known website can also be
infected. There are many examples of the same it
happened to Yahoo, The New York Times and other
big organizations in recent years. The most
common practice adopted by cyber criminals is to
place a malicious ad on legitimate sites known
as malvertising. As the visitor goes to that
website and he views the ad the malware is sent
to his computer, even without clicking on the ad
all this happens. To shield yourself from it one
should disable Adobe Flash Player and other
browser plugins. Plus, should run a scan using
updated antivirus software. Myth 5 Buying an Ant
ivirus programs makes hole in pocket Reality
This isnt correct because even without spending
a penny one can run antivirus program as there
are number of free antivirus software and best
anti malware available. You can them to protect
both you Windows and Mac machines. These free
programs download latest definition updates to
protect the machine and add an additional layer
of security.
3
Myth 6 Malware is not dangerous if
there is no important data on the machine
Reality Malware doesnt just look for only
private information but it even tries to access
account information and send out spam to your
contacts. Or, it will record your keystrokes to
steal credit- card numbers and login information
for bank accounts, social-networking platforms
and other online accounts.
Myth 7 Data can be restored from backup even if
hacked

• Reality If you think that wiping clean your
  computer and reinstalling fresh operating system
  will help you then you are mistaken because if
  you arent careful while taking backup of files
  then you may restore malware on the fresh
  machine. As malware can be attached to the
  backed-up files or can be hidden in the hard
  drive sectors.
• Therefore, to stay protected and avoid facing
  such a situation run a malware scanner or scan
  using anti-virus and best anti-malware product
  before taking backup of the date. This will help
  you stay protected from infections, rootkits and
  all other threats.
• Must Read How To Remove Malware From Your
  Android Phone Or Tablet
• Myth 8 If your machine is infected it means you
  are hacked
• Reality Malware infection doesnt mean that your
  system is hacked and hacker is trying to access
• information. Your machine can be infected due to
  various reasons
• By opening a malicious attachment sent in your
  email
• If you install any malicious software from the
  internet
• Visited an infected web page
• To learn more about malware and how it works
  click here
• Myth 9 Antivirus software can protect from
  malware infection
• Reality Most often people think that an
  antivirus program alone is sufficient to guard
  the system.
• But that is not true as hackers just wait to take
  advantage of any system vulnerability. Therefore,
  installing and running an updated malware
  scanner and best anti-malware software eradicates
  all the risk and secures the system.

Myth 10 Malware can destroy your computer
Reality Malware dont have the ability to damage
the functioning of the system as it is just a
piece of malicious code that spreads infections.
It doesnt affect the physical part of the PC.
After wiping clean, the system you can easily
install a new operating system but make sure that
you run a thorough scan on the system before
taking any backup and restoring it on the freshly
installed operating system.
4
Hope many of your myths are now cleared after
knowing the facts. As our ignorance is the main
reason of our machine getting infected and data
being hacked. Therefore, in order to stay
protected once should always try to gain more
and more knowledge because if you are educated no
one will be able to trap you and make you
install any malicious software. Also Read Top
10 Antivirus For Windows Also, remember no
system is 100 secure the thing that makes them
secure is our knowledge, security measures and
keeping a check on our online activities.