Antivirus Windows
What is a Spoofing Attack? | Antivirus Windows
The world of cybersecurity has never been more relevant than in the past year. With different ransomware attacks, security and risk management leaders must agree that threats in the digital environment is getting even more intelligent and the need for antivirus Windows is getting more important than ever.
One of the most popular techniques used by cybercriminals is spoofing. In cybersecurity, spoofing is when someone pretends to be another person in order to gain the confidence of the victims, get access to their systems, steal every single private data, and spread malware to erase any evidence. Spoofing attacks can come in many forms, primarily:
- Email spoofing
- Website and/or URL spoofing
- Caller ID spoofing
- Text message spoofing
- GPS spoofing
- Man-in-the-middle attacks
- Extension spoofing
- IP spoofing
- Facial spoofing
So how does it work? Cybercriminals usually use the name of popular organizations to easily get the information they need. It can be in the form of a spoofed email from your local bank or credit card that might inquire about purchases you never made. Concerned about your money, you might instinctively click the link provided. Clicking the link will lead you to a fake login page — complete with your bank logo and spoofed URL — for the purpose of copying your username and password.
Nowadays, cybercriminals rely on the naiveté of their victims. If you believe that every website is legitimate and never stop to think if the email is genuine, then you're likely to become a victim of a spoofing attack. To help you gear up, you must always be vigilant with everything you see online and you should have antivirus Windows software installed in your PC. In addition, here’s a more detailed explanation of the two of the most common types of spoofing:
Email spoofing
Email spoofing has been a global alarming issue in 2017 where hundreds of cyberattacks lead to a huge privacy leak in Asia. This act characterized by sending emails under false sender addresses – usually as part of a phishing attack designed to steal your information -- infect your system with malware and steal your data for money. Spoofed email address isn't always obvious to anyone, as cybercriminals can now copy a company’s whole graphic design. You might get a phishing email with what looks like a Facebook address in the sender field, but the content of the email is badly written. That's not something Facebook usually sends, and it should put your guards up.
Website spoofing
Be careful on clicking random links online, as it might lead you to a malicious website that look like a legitimate one. The fake site will look like just a random login page for a website you frequently visit—down to the graphics, user interface, and even a domain name that looks the same at first glance unless you look closer and realize that there’s an extra letter. Email spoofing and website spoofing works hand-in-hand, knowing that cybercriminals use spoofed websites to copy your username and password by enabling you to log in and drop malware onto your computer to erase any evidence.
Facial spoofing
You might have heard about this new trend where mobile cam apps enable you to copy celebrity’s face and put it on yours. This may be funny for some, but this is actually the latest form of spoofing. Nowadays, we use our faces to unlock our mobile devices and even laptops. Soon, we will be able to make payments and sign documents with our faces. What is even more alarming is the recent studies published this year wherein 3D facial models built from your pictures on social media can already be utilized by cybercriminals to hack into a device locked via facial ID. Just when you think that you’ve seen the worst, there are new deepfake technology being used to create fake news videos, featuring the voices and copied faces of politicians.
If you’re looking for a reliable and efficient antivirus program to defend you from these cyberattacks, Comodo Internet Security provides a 100% protection. It scans, detects, and removes each infection found on your computer so you can rest assured that your system remains clean. It will definitely bring peace of mind to all computer users. Unknown executables and other files that request runtime privileges are automatically run in Comodo’s virtual container that does not have access to the host system’s resources or user data. They run just as well as they would on the host system without damaging or infecting the system.
