In a break from the normal blog posts I post, this time we will be doing a deep dive article that is going to cover the do’s and don'ts of online (and a bit of offline) security, but mainly the stuff you need to know for the CompTIA A+ Exam.
First off we are going to look at some Viruses that you need to know and how you can avoid them.
Well, first off first off, let’s define what a virus is. A computer virus is like a human virus, in that it invades the host in one way or the other and compromises the system in some way. Pretty vague, but the idea of a virus is very broad so you can’t really get more detailed unless you are talking about a specific type of virus. Speaking of, let’s do that now.
Ransomware: This kind of virus takes your computer and (for the most part) encrypts all the files, holding them for ransom. They normally extort money from you and force you to pay in bitcoin so there is no trail to follow for law enforcement. A famous example of Ransomware is WannaCry, which hit back in 2017 that took the world by storm, most famously hitting the National Health Service in England forcing them to pay up or lose precious time while treating patients. The main way to stop ransomware is simply to have back ups done regularly. Instead of paying hundreds to get your files back, just wipe the drive and restore from a recent backup.
Trojans: Like the famous horse it is named after, trojan viruses come in acting like one thing, then expose their virus side once accepted. Like for example, if you downloaded a game off the internet, but once you launched it, it infects your computer stealing your data. There is no instant treatment for this kind of virus, your best bet is to always keep downloads to sites you trust and to keep your antivirus of choice up to date.
Keylogger: This is less a type of virus, and more a symptom of a virus. Once a keylogger is installed on your computer (Maybe thru a Trojan like we discussed above) the keylogger will log you keystrokes (Shocking, I know.) and most of the time report them back to whoever infected you. This is, for the most part, not terrible, as most words you are typing are not confidential, however, think of how many times a day you type personal information or even passwords. The ne’er-do-well who infected you now has access to your personal info and passwords just like that. Now obviously, if you have a keylogger installed, best to cut your internet connection as soon as possible, as to stop the transmission of data back to the attacker. Once the transfer of data is stopped, then you can just run an antivirus of your choice and get it out of there. Once you do that, best to change your passwords everywhere, as who knows how long the virus had been stealing your info.
Rootkit: A rootkit is another one that isn’t a virus by itself, but the result of a virus. Rootkits are normally injected via trojan and store themselves very low in the computer, hence the root (referring to the root level of the OS, where all admin access is.) The rootkit, given it has root/admin access, can hide itself from anti-viruses, as it has total control over the computer, so it can make itself seem benign. Most cases, your best bet to fix a rootkit is to reinstall the operating system from scratch. A famous example of a rootkit comes from none other than Sony, the creators of the Playstation. Sony included a rootkit with all of their music CDs in the mid 2000s as a way to curtail music sharing. The CDs, once loaded into a CD drive on a computer, woud, like a physical trojan, install a rootkit that modified the operating system of your computer, making it harder to rip and burn CDs. They came under heavy fire and eventually released an uninstaller, but apparently the uninstaller also had a ton of security flaws and installed more uninstallable programs.
Worm: A worm, like the animal it is named for, wriggles around but instead of dirt, it travels via the internet. Once a host computer has a worm, the worm will look for an exit into other unprotected computers that are connected to the same network, slowly making its way to all connected devices that it can. The first worm, called “Creeper”, was not designed to be a virus, but was just a proof of concept that a worm could exist. It took over the computer and made it print out the phrase “I'M THE CREEPER. CATCH ME IF YOU CAN!” Funny enough, the second worm was called “Reaper” and its sole purpose was to spread just like the Creeper, but then delete the Creeper worm from the computer. An Anti-virus-virus as it were.
Botnet: A botnet is again, a result of a virus, most likely a worm, where many computers across the internet that have been compromised, are used to do activities (mostly malicious.) An example of a botnet use might be for DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service Attack) where you purposely send tons of internet traffic to a specific site to either slow it down, or take it offline entirely. It should be noted, the members of a botnet most likely do not even realize they are part of one, as all the activity can be done in the background, so there is nothing suspicious going on on the computer itself. It should also be noted that not all botnets are bad per se, as you can use the collective power of multiple computers coming together to do good. One such example is collective computing, where many computers allocate resources to do hard math to reach a goal, such as simulate protein folding to help cure diseases.
Spyware: The last virus type we will cover here, as it is the last one you need to know for the CompTIA A+ exam, is Spyware. And no, we are not talking about shoe phones and cars that turn into boats. Spyware in this context is software designed to spy on you, including the aforementioned Keylogger. Spyware is much broader of a subject however, including things like file theft and even maliciously accessing recording devices. Have a microphone set up on your computer? In theory Spyware could access that microphone and relay all the juicy gossip you are talking about back to the attacker. Spyware really only works if you don’t know it is there, like a real Spy, so they often use hard to track infection methods, like the aforementioned Trojan or even a network worm. The removal is just like most other viruses, restore from backups or run an antivirus, nothing special or fancy to get rid of this one.
Now we are gonna pivot from things that use technology to get to you and look at ways people can use you to get to technology. These are called “social engineering” tactics, as they don’t use machines, but good old human interaction to “hack” you.
Phishing: A tactic as old as time, probably predating the invention of computers, it just got a lot easier to do so with them. Phishing is when you pretend to be something you are not to get information out of a target. Ever get an email saying you’ve won a prize? Or a phone call saying you owe money? These are both phishing attempts, as they are purporting to be a legitimate business, but all the while, they are simply trying to get info out of you, whether that is a password to your bank or even your social security number. Let’s look at a specific type of phishing (as you need to know it for the Exam)
Spear Phishing: This is a type of phishing that, like the name implies, is directly (like a spear) at a specific person/group. For example, let’s say you are an IT admin working for a business we will call “Business Inc.” If you got an email using Business Inc. letterhead / logos, you might be more likely to trust it. So if someone pretends to be the CEO for example and asks you for the passwords to important accounts, that is a way more specific phish than if some random guy asks for your SSN over the phone.The only way to stop spear phishing (and normal phishing for that matter) is to use critical thinking. Would your CEO really be emailing you to get the password? Better double check with them in person or if not possible, make sure the email it is coming from is legitimate. This leads to the next thing to look out for…
Impersonation: This is a pretty simple concept, so we won’t go too deep on it, but I think you probably know what this is from just reading the name. Impersonation is the act of pretending to be someone you are not. This can be used to get into restricted areas or even get confidential information that shouldn’t have been shared.
Shoulder Surfing: Way less cool than it sounds, shoulder surfing is the act of someone hovering over your shoulder trying to scry information that you may not want shared, like your password, social security number, or even what you had for dinner last night. There is some pretty cool tech that helps stop this using polarized light (so only people directly in front of the screen can read it) but if you are typing something in, that doesn’t do much to stop them from looking at your fingers. Your best bet to stop someone who is shoulder surfing is to simply be aware of your surroundings and hide your fingers/screen when dealing with confidential information.
Tailgating: Tailgating is similar to shoulder surfing in that it is a physical activity that people do to circumvent security. In this case, it is for places that have locks on their doors, whether those are physical padlocks or digital ID card locks, tailgating is the act of following in behind someone so that you don’t have to use your key / ID to get in. While it might seem courteous to hold the door for someone, it could be dangerous, as they might be there with bad intent and were just waiting for someone to let them in, like a modern day vampire. The easiest way to stop this is again, be aware of your surroundings and make sure no one slips in without using their key to get in. It might be a bit slower and more uncourteous, but that is the price you pay for better security.
Dumpster diving: This one will be pretty short, Dumpster Diving is the act of literally checking the trash to find tech that is being thrown out, to get info off of it. So if you are throwing out a computer or harddrive, be sure to dispose of it securely, as to not allow thieves to get one over on you.
Finally, let’s look at some ways to stay safe, as the title says, in cyberspace.
Passwords: Be sure that you follow best practices when making a password. Don’t make it so complicated that you won’t be able to remember it without writing it down, as it is a lot easier to steal a post-it note than it is to steal a memory. Also, don’t use common words or words associated with you. If you advertise on social media that you have a son named Jimmy who plays baseball, don’t make your password JimmyBaseball123, as that will be easy to guess for a hacker.
Getting rid of tech: Earlier we talked about dumpster diving and how people can steal data from thrown away tech, so you may be aFor a Magnetic Hard Drive, you’ll want to do a few things depending on what you plan to do with it. If you are simply giving it away, you will want to use a degaussing tool (A big magnet more or less) and have the contents reset back to default using a big magnet to scramble everything on the Magdrive. If you simply want to get rid of the drive and never worry about the content, then you will want a drill, so you can drill holes in the disk, so they cannot be used again. They also make big shredders for this task, to mulch the drive to all but ensure that it will never work again. Another thing to keep note of that you might not think of when it comes to tech, is paperwork. Some paperwork has important tech info on it, like passwords and the like. For paper like that, the safest way to dispose of it isn’t a paper shredder, as the fragments could be put back together. The safest way is to burn the paper in an incinerator. No reversing a chemical reaction, so you will be safe.
While there are tons more topics to cover in terms of security, I think that will have to wait for another day and another article, for now, signing off, until I have to renew again. See you in 3 years.