How To Stop Spam, Malware And Phishing Schemes

E-mail

E-mail is the transport mechanism of choice for many malware attacks.

Phishing

Phishing attacks try to trick people into revealing personal details such as credit card numbers or other financial or personal information. Although these attacks are rarely used to deliver malware, they are a major security concern because of the information that may be disclosed.

Removable media

This threat includes floppy disks, CD-ROM or DVD-ROM discs, Zip drives, USB drives, and memory (media) cards, such as those used in digital cameras and mobile devices.

Internet downloads

Malware can be downloaded directly from Internet Web sites such as social networking sites.

Instant messaging

Most instant messaging programs let users share files with members of their contact list, which provides a means for malware to spread. In addition, a number of malware attacks have targeted these programs directly.

Peer-to-peer (P2P) networks

To start file sharing, the user first installs a client component of the P2P program through an approved network port, such as port 80. Numerous P2P programs are readily available on the Internet.