Drive-by-downloads heise

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For example, you might get a link emailed to you or a post on your social media feed. It is masked to look as though it was sent from sources you trust. This social engineering tactic is used to entice you to click and open. Once the website is open, the drive-by download installs itself on your computer or mobile device.

This tactic is used to entice you to click and open. Phishing can also be used to bait you into a drive-by download. Popups or fraudulent online messages pose as organizations you know and trust. You might be seeing a fake security breach notification from your web browser, or a fake data breach email from your bank.

These are meant to scare you into clicking a link or downloading an attachment — and getting infected. An unauthorized drive by download works in a simple way despite having multiple phases:. As noted above, unauthorized malicious code is distributed directly by compromised websites.

However, the code is placed there by hackers. Their methods rely on natural flaws of digital technology, as well as unsafe security practices. Exploit kits are the software used to compromise vulnerable web servers and your devices. These kits identify software vulnerabilities on machines and web browsers to determine which systems are easy to obtain. Exploit kits often use small pieces of code designed to slip past simple defenses and go largely unnoticed.

The code is kept simple to focus on one job: to contact another computer to introduce the rest of the code it needs to access a mobile device or computer. Security vulnerabilities discovered by exploit kits are unavoidable in the digital age. No software or hardware can ever be made perfect.

Just like a building can be infiltrated with careful study and planning, so too can any software, network, or other digital infrastructure. Vulnerabilities come in a few common forms:. Zero-day exploits are hard to avoid, but known issues are manipulated purely due to poor cybersecurity practices.

If endpoint users and web admins fail to update all their software in a timely fashion, they will delay vital security updates as well — and this is what hackers rely on. Drive by downloads are by far one of the harder threats to prevent. Without proper attention to detail and strong security at all touchpoints, web activity becomes far more hazardous. As with many aspects of cyber safety, the best defense is caution.

You should never take your security for granted. As a website owner, you are the first line of defense between hackers that target your users. To give yourself and your users peace-of-mind, strengthen your infrastructure with these tips:. You can follow these tips to prepare yourself and your software against a drive by download attack:. We use cookies to make your experience of our websites better. By using and further navigating this website you accept this.

Detailed information about the use of cookies on this website is available by clicking on more information. Drive by Download Attack Definition Drive by download attacks specifically refer to malicious programs that install to your devices — without your consent.

Malware writers began by creating a fake "toolkit" for WordPress-based blogs that tens of thousands of WordPress users installed, creating a "backdoor" that let the malware writers infect their blogs. Browsers visiting those pages were redirected to malware sites, which tried to install a "downloader," the first part of the Flashback Trojan. If direct installation of the downloader without the knowledge of the user failed, another piece of malware used a more traditional technique: It asked the user for permission to install fake Apple software, which was in fact the downloader.

Once installed, the downloader would install more malware. One piece was a backdoor; another hijacked Web browsers to replace Web ads with ads controlled by the malware writers. The Flashback outbreak was contained by Apple security updates in early April , but in retrospect, the owners of those , infected Macs were lucky.

The backdoor didn't install anything except fake ads. It could have instead stolen the users' identities, emptied their bank accounts or used the infected machines to pump out spam and malware. First, set up the user accounts so that all regular users have limited permissions and cannot modify applications or the operating system.

Create a separate administrator account to be used only when installing, updating or deleting software.