MalAwareness Exposed

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MalAwareness Exposed

For the sake of clarity, this article’s title “MalAwareness Exposed” referrers to the phenomenon of general lack of awareness with regards to the plethora of malicious applications out there, also known as malware. The word “mal” in French means wrong or incorrect and is also synonymous with the word evil and its Spanish cousin, “malo”, is quite similar.

In this article, we will focus less on the semantics but rather on the reality of incorrect or insufficient awareness and knowledge around malware and what the average cyber citizen can do to level up in that arena.

Malware on iPhones, desktops, laptops, Windows OS, as well as Android malware infections should be carefully explored by each and every literate cyber user out there. It is a collective responsibility to deal with this nefarious and sophisticated enemy to internet users globally. 

Reputable Solution Providers

Before learning more about the various types of malware and ransomware, the first most prudent and responsible step is to look for cyber security companies that have helped countless customers worldwide with a solid, proven track record and reputation. Ensure that these companies can provide a comprehensive, holistic solution across all your devices and operating systems for your family.

Product-Agnostic Solutions

With some members using Apple products and some with a preference for Samsung products, for example, you need brand-agnostic, device-agnostic, and OS-agnostic cyber security and cyber privacy solution for all your end-point devices and entry-point devices such as your home router.

Free Trial & Full Version

Start off with a free trial for a week or two. If your confidence in the product is to your satisfaction with enough strong data to back up your cyber security conclusions, purchase a full-version and get on the right track to a secure cyber piece of mind.

Top Malware Variants

  1. Shlayer – Shlayer, in its essence, is a malware downloader and dropper targeting Apple products. Shlayer spreads primarily via hijacked domains and mal advertising or in the guise of a fake Adobe Flash updater. All Shlayer domains follow the same pattern <api.random_name.com>. Below are several examples of domains Shlayer uses.

api.interfacecache[.]com

api.scalableunit[.]com

api.typicalconfig[.]com

api.standartanalog[.]com

api.fieldenumerator[.]com

api.practicalsprint[.]com

api.searchwebsvc[.]com

api.connectedtask[.]com

api.navigationbuffer[.]com

api.windowtask[.]com

  1. Agent Tesla – Agent Tesla is a Remote Access Trojan also known by the acronym RAT. It is a type of malware that uses digitally violent mechanisms to extract login credentials, private keystrokes, and infected device screenshots.
  2. Snugy –  Snugy is a PowerShell vulnerability that enables the attacker to obtain a plethora of metadata about the system from its hostname and IP address, including other nodes on the immediate broadcast domain, leading to full control of all devices in that immediate network. Each device may give the hacker clues about even more devices making the cyber break-in even more elaborate.
  3. ZeuS – ZeuS is a banking trojan that employs keylogging to access the cyber victim’s cyber credentials. Since the release of the ZeuS source code in 2011, other variants and flavors have formed, making it a much bigger player in the malware arena. The coding framework is very similar in these variants, each possibly with its unique strengths.