The Top 4 Malicious File Attachments to look out for

-
Billions of messages are sent out every day by spammers, most of it is annoying advertising and harmless in general, but every now and again there is a dangerous file attachment in one of the messages!

Related image

To trick you into opening the attachment, most spammers will pretend it is something useful or important such as a Word document, gift card, a PDF, etc.

Here are the top 4 dangerous file attachments to look out for…

ZIP and RAR archives – Cybercriminals like to use archives to hide the malware they are trying to send you! On Valentine’s Day this year attackers were sending out files named Love_You_0899 to people into clicking them and installing ransomware.

Microsoft Office documents – Word documents as well as Excel spreadsheets are some of the most popular Microsoft Office files cybercriminals love to use. Most of the time, they will target office workers and disguise the malware files as urgent messages, contracts or bills.

PDF files – A lot of people know about Microsoft Office booby traps, but not much about PDF files. Cybercriminals are fond of concealing malware in PDF files because it can be used to create and run JavaScript files as well as phishing links in the documents.

ISO and IMG disk images – These files are rarely used however lately cybercriminals have been using these files to spread malware. Attackers will use the disk images to deliver malware to a victim’s computer by putting a malicious executable file inside the image.

Do not be fooled by file attachments that seem to be an amazing offer, important PDF or urgent  message!

Never open suspicious emails from email addresses you do not know and always use a the right security tools that will notify you of any dangerous files and notify you of them.

Related image



Do you feel unsafe? Be sure to contact OSINT | Open-Source Intelligence on 021 110 0422 or email contact@osint.co.za otherwise learn more on www.osint.co.za

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Phishing, Smishing and Vishing!

-
Image
Letting your guard down can lead to serious consequences, especially when it comes to fraud through your emails, SMS’s and even telephone calls. Phishing, smishing, and vishing are some of the many ways that criminals may try to defraud you… Here’s what you need to know about phishing, smishing, and vishing! Phishing: This is a scam that takes place through emails. A typical attack will occur when you receive an email that looks real, either appearing to be sent from your bank or other financial institution.  Most of the time the email will ask you to click on a link or update your private account information. Even though these emails may look legitimate, they are simply trying to scare you into clicking a link that will lead to a legitimate-looking website – but it isn’t! They will try and scare you into clicking links by saying, “your account has been blocked.” or “you need to install this new software to stay protected.” If you fall for this fake email, you wi
Read more

The 4 most popular Spam Scams!

-
Image
If you have any sort of common sense you would know that there isn’t a prince or member of a royal African family that wants to send you their millions with no strings attached! However, even though this sort of scam has been ongoing for many years, the overall principals of a spam scam are still going strong and continue to grow and become more malicious each and every day. These are 4 of the most popular spam scams that like to pretend to come from an actual legitimate source, often tricking unknowing people into clicking on links and opening dangerous attachments. Fake password changes One of the most common scams is the password change alert or confirmation email that users will receive either from their bank, social media network or another trusted source. The scammers will trick the users into thinking their accounts have been hacked and urge them to click on a link or open a malicious attachment to reset their password. False bookings These scams ap
Read more

Social Media Safety - Twitter

-
Image
Whether you tweet once a day or constantly tweet updates throughout the day, you need to remember that if you’re using Twitter you need to be aware of the security and privacy risks. Here are five important safety tips to remember when you’re using Twitter. -- Never share personal information It is best to keep all your private information such as your phone number, address and email address, out of your Twitter profile! Geotagging is an optional feature that is able to make your exact location public, it is also best to switch off this setting too. -- Update your password Hackers can easily gain access to your account if you have used a weak, easily guessable password. Use a strong password and change it every few weeks for maximum security. Make sure to include uppercase and lower case letters, numbers and special characters in your passwords every time. -- Never click on suspicious links Often hackers will try a phishing attack on you through your
Read more