IntroductionMalware are malicious programs created to steal sensitive information, bypass access control, compromise computer activities. It can lead to a computer malfunctioning or damage. It has been used to access random number generators, reveal private keys and also to compromise 2 factor authenticators to reveal authentication codes to hackers, it is used to reveal passwords and login details stored on browsers and to steal bitcoin from wallets. So, it is very important to know about these malware.
Not only computer is affected, phones, tabs and any device working like a computer can be compromised or damaged by these malware. So, malware can be so dangerous that a single computer can be affected with more than three malware, this is called
hybrid malware attack. There are files that can affect the performance of a computer that are not malware, they are called
grayware. Grayware are so dangerous as they can gain access to a computer activities.
Malware types are many than these listed below, but these are the most common ones used by hackers and know that hackers still can install more malware later on the same device.
Different types of common malwareVirusSome people do call malware viruses but viruses only account for less than 10% of malware attack, they infect legitimate files and can spread from file to file. This makes them so dangerous that the computer may only need full flashing to recover. They can damage bitcoin devices like phones and computers.
WormComputer viruses spread based on human activities before they spread but worms can self replicate and spread regardless and this makes worms very more hard and can infect the computer files in just few minutes without any human action. They are often attached to emails before installing when the email link is clicked and that is why it is not good to click on such emails that contain infected files.
Trojan horseAlso know as Trojan. It was even revealed that trojan can reveal 2 factor authentication code and the likes. Trojan is exucuted by the victim upon clicking on infected files or links before it works for hackers. These files looks like normal files that victim download, so the victim downloaded the file and got its computer infected. It can be used to steal information like passwards and other login details and hackers can use it to monitor the computer activities.
RootkitIf this type of malware is installed, it can take control of the computer activities and used by hackers to steal information and access the computer easily and access other useful information. So this malware is also dangerous as everything about your bitcoi wallet cannbe revealed and including the exchange accounts used for trading can be compromised and be hacked easily.
SpywareThis is a spy that spy on users activities without the user knowing, it can easily reveal everything on the computer including login details. I hope you get this, this can be done when the wallet owner make use of access details to access his wallet and the spyware will allow the hackes to spy on the access details.
RansomwareIt happens in a way you will not be able to access your bitcoin wallet device until you pay certain amount of bitcoin before someone can have access to the computer, it is downloaded the way worms are downloaded through files.
Bots/BotnetsIf a computer is infected already and can be easily controlled by hackers, it is called bot or zombie computer, it can be used to launch more attacks and this results into a group of bots called botnet. It can be used for distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, and also for spread of other types of malware.
BugDuring the creation of software, there are some mistakes due to errors, that is the reason software are always updated to let them to be less buggy. There are some bugs used by hackers to steal data and also steal authentication codes this could be complicated but very real.
AdwareIt is called advertising supported software, it automatically direct users to a malware websites. It can direct browser search to web pages that contain malware that can be installed unknowingly to the computer user.
Fileless malware These are the modern day malware as it was noticed in 2017, 50% of recent malware are fileless, they do not make use of file but make use of random access memory (RAM). They are very hard to know or even stop. It is believed to be used for attack activities but can be removed by rebooting the device.
How to detect malware on your computersThere are ways in which malware can be detected and removed but there are malware that are not easy to remove and some would have stolen from your bitcoin wallet before you know your device has a malware installed, it will be better to just make use of prevention to avoid malware. Microsoft's Autoruns, Microsoft’s Process Explorer, or Silent Runners may be of help while looking for malware but not 100% guaranteed. If the malware is hard to remove, you can try to remove the hiding parts from memory if possible. You can try to boot the microsoft window and then remove component that hid, this can be done by just renaming the malware file. Check the link to to know how you can remove malware by using Process explorer.
https://www.csoonline.com/article/2883958/malware-detection-in-9-easy-steps.htmlhttps://www.infoworld.com/article/3014323/a-free-almost-foolproof-way-to-check-for-malware.htmlHow to prevent your devices from malware attack.
Prevention is better than cure, try to protect your phones, tablets and computers from getting malware is the best.
These are few prevention measures:
1.
Installing the latest antivirus and antimalware This can really help against the malware, old antimalware can be later prone to latest malware attacks, this can help to protect bitcoin wallet and devices generally against malware but also practicing safe browsing is best.
2.
Keeping operating system up to dateThis can help to make the device more resistant to malware but that does not mean it is actually resistant to most latest malware. It will also help to remove bugs and also improve vulnerability patches.
3.
Be careful when downloading When downloading software on third party platform like google play stores and other third party sites, be careful. Research about the software, check what people comment about it and check if you can easily download it from the official site which will be better and safer.
4.
Checking for the domainYou can use whois.net to check for the domain of any site you want to visit. You can check how old is it and know if the site are legit or not.
5.
Be careful to click on adsAds are good thing but they can be attached to malware, it is very useful to use ad blockers on your browser like brave browser.
6.
Use paid VPNFree VPN are more used by hackers to display their ads and use it to installed malware to victims device, which can be used to steal data or compromise the devices. I can not also guarantee that paid VPN are safe but they are more secured.
7.
Use your devices less onlineBrowse as less as possible with the device you store your sensitive information like login details and be careful and always think hackers are at work. Also, this goes to the devices you use as crypto wallets.
8.
Avoid clicking on emails linksNever click on email links it is very risky unless you authorized it. I do not click on email links even if sent from legit source because it is risky, you can later realized it is not from legit source.
9.
Look for for URL padlock and also 's'You can still find out if links actually have Http(s), I mean the 's' and also padload at the left hand side of the URL. Unsecured sites do not have the two. But, this just a half way to know of a website is legit because there are some scam websites that can have the padlock and the s but congested with malware.
10.
Do not click on short linksDo not use your sensitive devices to click on short links, they are very dangerous and can contain malware. The link can be from fake airdrops, mining sites, email, social media and many other sites.
11.
Make use of encrypted connectionsPublic connections like WiFi may not be encrypted and are not secured, make use of data connections from reported data service providers is the best.
12.
Changing password, not saving it on broswers or not storing login details on phoneIf you can change your passwords over time can also help but that does not mean it is 80% graranteed. Hackers can make use of the time you did not change the passwords and login details to do there work successfully. But by not storing your login details on your phone at all and by not saving it on broswers are the best but not convenient.
ConclusionHackers use many complicated ways to steal information, for compromising bitcoin wallets and devices generally, for example, adware can lead to installing of rootkit which can takes control of your computer and click on email link that contains a trojan horse without victims knowledge and so on, the Trojan that is installed can compromise random access number, private keys or even revealing two factor authentication codes, all these can be used to compromised bitcoin wallets and hackers can use it to steal bitcoin from the wallet owner. So malware attacks can be complicated and a single computer can be affected with more than five malware. The best thing someone can do is to avoid malware in the first place because a single malware can results to legions of malware on a single device and ended in bitcoin loss but still the primary aim of malware is to steal. Lastly, know that not only bitcoin wallet can be compromised but also all other crypto wallets.
https://www.upguard.com/blog/types-of-malwarehttps://www.uscybersecurity.net/malware/https://www.veracode.com/blog/2012/10/common-malware-types-cybersecurity-101https://www.csoonline.com/article/2615925/security-your-quick-guide-to-malware-types.html
