Miscellaneous 3 min. read

3 Malware Strains You Should Be Aware Of

3 Malware Strains You Should Be Aware Of

best internet security vpn

On the Internet, malicious software abound, and going online without the best Internet security VPN is tantamount to going to battle unprepared.

Why You Need to Know About Malware

Knowing about the different malware strains that prowl the World Wide Web is very important because doing so gives you an idea of how they work as well as how you can avoid them. To give you a head start, we have listed  three of the most notorious malware strains that currently exist today.

Below are three dangerous malware strains that you need to be aware of:

  1. Ranscam

Ranscam is a formidable malware strain that you should keep on your radar. Recently discovered by Cisco Talos researchers, this malicious software uses the same infrastructure used by typical ransomware, locking infected devices after execution.

However, instead of giving back your files, they are automatically deleted, even after paying the ransom. Whether this is intended or done by amateur programmers, it is still a malware to be wary of because there is no known way to recover files that have been deleted by Ranscam at the moment.

  1. HummingBad

HummingBad is another malware strain that you should be worried about, especially if you’re an Android device user. HummingBad’s main purpose of attack is to generate ad fraud income for the cybercriminals behind it. HummingBad is not your ordinary adware, though; unlike other adware, this strain uses highly complex attacks that can get past even the most trusted scanners.

According to researchers at Check Point Systems, HummingBad utilizes multiple layers of attack so that if the first one fails, another one is initiated. In addition to this, each attack is made of several stages, which include the decryption and unpacking of actual malicious code, as malicious components are encrypted during an attack to avoid detection.

  1. Godless

Detected by security software developer Trend Micro as ANDROIDOS_GODLESS.HRX, the Godless mobile malware can root most of existing Android devices today, especially those that run on Android Lollipop or earlier. This mobile malware uses various exploits to get root privilege, then secretly and remotely installs apps on the device. Once infected, Godless waits until the device is turned off. The rooting commences when the device is turned back on.

Godless is highly sophisticated that it got past Google’s high-grade security scans and is currently present in a number of apps on Google Play. Trend Micro said that as of June this year, more than 850,000 of the world’s Android devices are affected, with 46 percent in India, 10 percent in Indonesia, and 9 percent in Thailand.

Protect Yourself using Hotspot Shield VPN

One effective way of protecting yourself against malware strains when surfing the web is by installing Hotspot Shield VPN, the best Internet security VPN, on your device. Hotspot Shield provides added malware protection using a database of more than 3.5 million malicious, phishing and spam sites. The VPN alerts you if the site that you are trying to visit is known to contain malware, and then prevents you from accessing that site.

Aside from this, Hotspot Shield has other benefits that let you enjoy your browsing sessions better. Hotspot Shield allows you to access sites that are blocked by your network administrator or are region-locked, secures your data from snoopers using advanced encryption, and temporarily changes your IP address for anonymous and secure browsing. Best of all, Hotspot Shield is free. You can download it here.

Want to browse without having to worry about malicious software? Install Hotspot Shield on your device and enjoy a safer and worry-free browsing experience.

FREE-DOWNLOAD-button-Hotspot-Shield-all-devices

Get the latest stories and tips from Hotspot Shield in your inbox