An e-mail virus consists of malicious code that is distributed in e-mail messages, and this code can be activated when a user opens an e-mail attachment, on a link in an e-mail message clicks or otherwise interacts with the infected email message.
E-mail viruses are mostly proliferated by sending the malicious message or attachment to everyone in the victim’s address book. These viruses can be packaged and presented in different ways. Some of them can be easily detected as malicious based on their subject lines that just don’t make sense, suspicious senders, or several other header fields and body content. It can also be difficult for recipients to identify specific email messages containing malware, as these messages reflect tremendous effort by the malicious actor to make the email message appear as if it came from a known and trusted one sender originates. This is especially true in the case of phishing attacks carried out to further fuel business email compromise attacks.
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E-mail viruses are most commonly associated with phishing attacks, in which hackers send malicious email messages that appear to come from authorized sources, including Internet search sites, social media, the victim’s bank, or even colleagues and friends. In such scenarios, the attacker’s goal is to trick users into revealing personal information such as victim’s full name and address, username, password, payment card number or social security number. Spam and malware-laden email messages are still considered one of the most effective means of social engineering used by hackers to spread and infect users with viruses, and also to attack their victims’ corporate networks.
Types of email viruses
Ransomware: Mostly delivered via email, ransomware encrypts the victim’s data and then charges a fee for recovery . The motive for ransomware attacks is usually monetary, and unlike other types of attacks, the victim of a ransomware attack is generally notified that an exploit has taken place and given instructions on how to recover from the attack. Ransomware attacks typically require payment in a virtual currency such as bitcoin to prevent the cybercriminal’s identity.
Phishing: Phishing uses psychological manipulation to trick victims into revealing login credentials or other sensitive information that criminals use or sell for malicious purposes. In general, a phishing attack consists of an authentic-looking sender and a socially constructed message. There are a number of email recipients who believe the message is from a legitimate source and end up opening infected attachments or clicking on malicious links.
Spoofing: Email protocols lack efficient mechanisms for authenticating email addresses, and therefore hackers can use addresses and domains very similar to legitimate ones, and lead victims to believe that the emails they are receiving are fraudulent.
Whaling/Business Email Compromise: Business Email compromise (BEC), also known as “whaling,” is the target of an organization’s biggest fish. In this type of social engineering scam, an attacker sends an email to someone in the organization with the potential to execute a financial transaction. The email appears to be from the CEO or other authorized person, and is requesting an immediate financial transaction such as a seller payment, wire transfer, or direct deposit.
Spam : Spam is still a major challenge for businesses, although a number of attempts have been made to filter out unwanted email. While the most common form of spam is simply considered annoying, spam is also commonly used to spread malware. For example, ransomware is most commonly spread via spam, and therefore cautions all organizations to carefully screen spam for malicious intent.
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Key Logger: Criminals behind the most damaging data breaches always use stolen user credentials. A keylogger is considered to be an effective method used by criminals to get passwords and IDs. This is most often delivered via email when victims unknowingly click on a malicious link or attachment.
Zero-day exploits: A zero-day vulnerability refers to a Vulnerability not known to the software developer. The vulnerability is exploited by hackers before the vendor has developed a fix. Zero-day attacks are most often delivered via malicious emails, and hackers use them to gain unauthorized access and steal sensitive information.
Social Engineering: Social engineering will used by cybercriminals to establish trust before sensitive data or user credentials are stolen. In social engineering attacks, a computer criminal poses as a trusted person and joins a conversation to gain access to a company’s network.The attacker tricks the victim into revealing passwords, IDs, and confidential information, or forces them to unknowingly conduct a fraudulent transaction.
How to stop spam and email viruses
Consider Please use the tips given below to prevent an email virus from infecting your client device or network:
- Use antivirus software.
- Scan all Attachments for malware.
- Do not prevent opening potentially dangerous attachments such as PDF files contained in email messages from unknown senders.
- Do not click links provided in email messages and be aware of phishing email messages that appear to be sent from authorized sources.
- Hold the email client, keep the operating system and web browser up to date and patched.
- Do not open executable files saved as E- Mail attachments are included. Attackers can try to camouflage these files by naming them with two extensions, such as . B. image.gif.exe, but .exe is actually the symbol for an executable file that runs automatically.
- Do not give out your email address to websites that are unsecured. Even if the website holds up, malware and viruses can intercept your address so they can easily send you a fake email containing a virus.
- You can stop spam and virus email attacks by typing a text preview in your chosen email service. Content previews give you an overview of the content of the email, eliminating the need to click on the email to determine its content.
- If an antivirus program sends you an email that contains tells you that your computer has been infected, always make sure you check the information with your antivirus software before opening the email. These programs are less likely to correspond via email than via interface messages.
3 ways an email virus infects computers
Individuals and institutions need to invest more resources in email protection Keep email viruses at bay. Although an email virus looks simple, its ability to damage your computer should not be underestimated. Given the possibility that a cybercriminal is behind the email virus, more email protection is needed.
To get better email protection, consider what parts an email virus might be hiding in an email so you can protect yourself accordingly.
How an email virus is sent to your email
1. An email virus in phishing emails
An email virus may just be the beginning of a targeted attempt to steal your personal information. Some hackers could target sensitive data in your account or in a database for which you have credentials. Along with improving your email protection, you also need to increase your vigilance. The hackers may have done some research and used social engineering to design a phishing email to get your information.
In this case, email protection needs to be complemented with confidence and gut instinct. If you don’t know how a particular company got your email, or you don’t know the person who is sending you an email, it’s best not to touch the message as it may contain an email virus .
Also note the web address in the email and make sure it is the same one you are signing up to. If the email address changes, check with the institution to see if their domain has changed. Sometimes changes in the address are so minor that you need to be more detail oriented than usual. A little care is better than extra email protection.
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If you know the email is a hoax, please delete it and do not pass it on. Start being very selective about what messages you share so that in some way you become part of someone else’s email protection. This also reduces the chance of spreading an email virus.
2. E-mail virus in an attachment
An e-mail virus is most commonly transmitted via the e-mail attachment. Again, for better email protection from an email virus, you need to be vigilant and not open the attachment unless it is from someone you trust. And even if you trust the sender, you still need to verify the attachment filename.
E-mail viruses often come in the form of an executable file, so be very suspicious of anything ending with the following extensions: .dll .exe .com .pif .js .scr
or anything that might contain scripts: .doc .dot .xls .xlt
If you have antivirus on your computer, you can download the message but not open it. Have your antivirus scanner scan for email viruses. This may help clean up the file for you. However, for the best email protection, your company or yourself can purchase Comodo’s Antispam Gateway. This specialized software weaves three layers of email protection into one command console, containment technology that isolates email viruses and allows them to run from a safe environment on your computer, and advanced filters and algorithms designed to deal with them , weed out threats in your emails. Is there better email protection?
3.An e-mail virus in the body of the e-mail
An e-mail virus can also be embedded in the body. However, similar to email viruses in attachments, email viruses also hide themselves quite well in the body. There are two ways they can compromise your email protection. First, they can disguise themselves as links. You may think you are safe in your email account so you no longer need email protection. That’s wrong. First, when you click on a link you can end up opening an infected page that installs an email virus on your computer.
Second, some email viruses can masquerade as a simple HTML output code. So the best advice for email protection in this scenario is to avoid enabling HTML in your account and stick with the default view. That way an email virus doesn’t have a chance to install itself.
Now you know where an email virus can be placed in your email. You’ll get the best email protection as long as you combine each of your solutions with common sense and vigilance. That way, even if you have a full suite of email protection software installed on your computer, if your software fails, you won’t be able to escape an email virus. The best email protection is still you.
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