{"id":54799,"date":"2016-10-27T19:03:13","date_gmt":"2016-10-27T19:03:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/?p=54799"},"modified":"2016-10-27T19:03:13","modified_gmt":"2016-10-27T19:03:13","slug":"malware-progression","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/malware-progression\/","title":{"rendered":"Malware Progression – 28 Years in the Making"},"content":{"rendered":"

Malware Progression<\/h4>\n

Malware, or malicious software, has been around far longer than most probably know.\u00a0 One of the first reported cases of malware was in 1988 with the Morris worm<\/a>.\u00a0 The author of the Morris worm denied malicious intent when distributing the malware.\u00a0 According to the author, it was merely a test to determine the reach of the internet.\u00a0 Unfortunately, the Morris worm went viral, infecting 5% of online PCs.<\/p>\n

Two years later, the first polymorphic virus<\/a> was written.\u00a0 Polymorphic viruses are viruses that change a single piece of code to become a new, undetectable virus.\u00a0 Since origination, polymorphic viruses have increased in prevalence.\u00a0 As more and more\u00a0anti-virus programs became available, the concept of a polymorphic virus was to avoid detection from these security solutions.\u00a0 This method of infection is\u00a0still quiet successful against the traditional blacklist security approach.<\/p>\n

Current Malware Threats<\/h4>\n

Today, malware is an umbrella term used to describe worms, trojans, viruses, adware, scareware, ransomware and spyware.\u00a0 Recently, the most popular form of malware, ransomware, has been in the spotlight.\u00a0 Ransomware is a form of malware that will encrypt your personal files and hold them hostage until the ransom demand is paid.\u00a0 It has been reported the ransoms paid in 2016 alone will exceed $1 billion (USD).\u00a0 Let me reiterate, that is for ransomware alone.\u00a0 This number does not include the amount people are paying on tech support scams or malware removal.<\/p>\n

As technology continues to advance, the risks of malware attacks increase exponentially.\u00a0 Our dependence on computers and smart devices has skyrocketed, making our devices\u00a0more appealing for hackers to attack.\u00a0 Unfortunately, this won’t be changing anytime soon.\u00a0 Our society is becoming more and more technologically advanced.\u00a0 Our refrigerators, vehicles, phones\u00a0and televisions have WiFi capabilities.\u00a0 When malware first originated, that was never a thought.\u00a0 Not only are our PCs at risk, but\u00a0all of our technology.<\/p>\n

Staying Protected<\/h4>\n

With malware more prevalent than ever, you need to keep your information secure.\u00a0 You can do so by using a security solution that includes application whitelisting <\/a>technology.\u00a0 Application whitelisting has proven to be the most effective means of protection against today’s malware threats.\u00a0 So much so, the FBI <\/a>and US-CERT<\/a>\u00a0have encouraged all PC users to implement a security solution that includes application whitelisting<\/a>.\u00a0 Also, the NSA <\/a>has added application whitelisting to their best practices.\u00a0 PC Pitstop offers a security solution that includes application whitelisting technology, PC Matic<\/a> for home use and PC Matic Pro<\/a> for business and government use.<\/p>\n

With the growth in\u00a0malware threats, it is clear the world needs better security.\u00a0 Follow the advice of the FBI, US-CERT and NSA.\u00a0 Implement a security solution that includes application whitelisting, and keep your information secure.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Malware Progression Malware, or malicious software, has been around far longer than most probably know.\u00a0 One of the first reported cases of malware was in 1988 with the Morris worm.\u00a0 The author of the Morris worm denied malicious intent when distributing the malware.\u00a0 According to the author, it was merely a test to determine the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54,"featured_media":52414,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[5077,56],"class_list":["post-54799","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-pit-blog","tag-history-of-malware","tag-malware"],"yoast_head":"\nMalware Progression - 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