What is Malware?
Malware (Malicious Software) is a programme or file that can infiltrate and harm a computer or a network. Some examples include:
- Viruses - malware that attaches to programs, causing unwanted activity or damage to a computer system.
- Spyware/adware - malware that watches your computers activities and may show invasive advertisements (often in web browsers).
- Worms - A self-replicating virus that can spread to other systems.
- Trojan horses - A virus that can give others access to your system to steal information or install other malware.
- Rootkit - malware that provides access to administrative privileges on your system.
- Ransomware - malware that can lock your screen or encrypt your data, until a ransom is made.
- Keyloggers - A computer program that records every keystroke a computer user has made to gain access to passwords and other personal information.
How it works
Malware can infect a computer from USBs, automatic downloads via email or websites and third-party apps requiring access to social media. The software can remain undetected for some time and cause problems with your computer or files.
Common signs that malware has infected your system can be a slow computer, seeing lots of pop ups and ads, programs behaving strangely and friends reporting receiving spam from you.
For example, when you open up your web browser you might see lots of advertisements asking you to click on them, some of which may even move or flash. If you see this, it’s best to run an anti-virus scan. This could be a sign that you need to remove some malware from your computer.
How to protect yourself from Malware
There are some quick and easy steps you can take to prevent complications from malicious software on your computer:
- Keep your security settings and software updated to help detect any unwanted programs or malware being downloaded.
- When downloading new programs, always click to see exactly what is being downloaded (unwanted software is often included in other downloads).
- Enable automatic anti-virus scans to help detect and reduce the impact of potential malware. Allow these automatic scans to run regularly alongside the use of a firewall to help keep your system ‘clean’.
Thinking Ahead
Direct physical harm from malware remains unlikely. Yet considering how reliant we are on our devices, the potential threat of disclosure or corruption of sensitive, personal data remains real. Thinking ahead and backing up your data regularly (say once a month) and actioning the latest security and anti-virus updates (sometimes called patches) will make sure you are prepared for any possible security breaches on your system.
Ransomware
Ransomware is a form of malware that can screen lock a computer or encrypt its files, threatening to publish these files unless a ransom is paid. Ransomware attacks have increased 350% around the world since 2017. Furthermore, the number of global ransomware attacks in the first half of 2022 was reported as an estimated 236.1 million.
Ransomware in the news
You might remember the widespread disruption caused by the ‘WannaCry’ ransomware in 2017 that saw the NHS, o2 and other businesses around the world ‘locked’ out of their systems. The most worrying realisation was that 75% of the businesses affected were running up-to-date security software. Very quickly after this disruption, internet security firms were able to remedy the problem. Since then more attention has been paid to the potential threat of ransomware.
Top Tips for talking to Children and Young People about Malware:
- Talk to young people to help them understand what kind of downloads might be unsafe and when it’s OK to open files.
- Showing them examples of suspicious pop-ups will allow them to make sense of the risk of malware.
- Creating an open conversation and answering questions, or looking for the answers together will foster confidence.
- Talking openly about the internet will help create a supportive environment that reaffirms your shared responsibility with young people in your care to navigate the internet safely.
Ransomware Statistics
- Ransomware was named the top threat in 2021
- It accounted for 10% of all breaches in 2021/2022
- There were 5.4 billion attacks in 2021 alone
- In 2022 of all ransomware victims, on average, 32% paid the ransom and only 65% got their data back
For more information about cyber security, check out our online safety article: