The World Wide Web is an incredible source of information and has grown increasingly so over the last couple of years. The number of users of the World Wide Web (Www) has also widely increased across the globe. Unfortunately, this seemingly nice scenario has been marred by the activities of hackers, who are on the lookout for certain vulnerabilities and other exploits, to ruin your web experience.
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It has therefore become imperative to ask: how one can get infected via WWW? Getting adequate answers to this question will provide us with useful information to guard against falling prey to hackers.
Sources of WWW Infection
Records reveal that the WWW is the most common channel of infection. Hackers take advantage of software vulnerabilities or other exploits, to intercept personal data or infect your computer. Some software such as Oracle Java, Adobe Flash and Adobe Reader have been known to be critically vulnerable. Adobe Flash has been incorporated in browsers like Google Chrome and Internet Explorer, thus creating online security loopholes. Software vulnerability constitute 75.6% source of web assaults.
Other sources of infection from the WWW include malwares from websites – 23.9%, phishing – 0.5%, social media attacks, drive-by downloads and hidden content.
Common Exploits for WWW Infection
Many exploits on the WWW can be used to release attacks on your computer and get you infected. We are going to describe some of these and their inherent dangers, so you will be wary when you come across them. Some of them can be easily identified, while some others appear harmless but subtly harbor sources of attacks. So, how one can get infected via WWW?
- Malicious Websites: Websites used for malicious intentions deliver 4.63% of cyber attacks. These websites conceal malicious content which are unleashed on your computer the moment you visit them. They are thus designed for the sole purpose of getting you infected via World Wide Web. Within this category of malicious websites, 88.6% of them deliver drive-by downloads, 10.7% are used for phishing attacks, 0.70% of the websites are used for redirecting the user to other destinations on the Internet, which are malware infected. Phishing aims at your personal information such as your email passwords and even your bank details. Drive-by downloads are usually embedded with malwares.
- Advertisement Networks: 90% of cyber attacks are delivered from advertisement networks. Oftentimes, these advertisement networks install adware and cookies on your computer, which are meant to monitor your online inclinations and preferences. To the detriment of your device, these adware and cookies may contain malwares which will affect your device performance and may subsequently lead to system breakdown.
- Remarketing Networks: These constitute 4.10% of infections on the WWW. Remarketing networks can deliver attacks to your device, if they contain viruses and other malwares embedded in their content.
- Malware-Infected Websites: A visit to a malware-infected website is an invitation to instant malware attacks. 1.20% of exploits are delivered through such websites.
- Typosquatting Normal Websites: This involves cashing in on typographical errors of users when they try to type URLs on their browsers. It is also called URL hijacking. Users get redirected to malicious websites, thereby running into security risks. Studies reveal that 0.04% of infections are delivered via typosquatting sites.
- Content Delivery Networks: Content delivery networks (CDNs) are setup by data centers using a number of servers. These CDNs have been proven to contain some level (0.03%) of security risks.
Conclusion
The World Wide Web is a great source of information; however, there are inherent dangers lurking around. Your device could be an object of cyber attacks through software vulnerabilities and other exploits. It is of utmost importance that you keep your software updated including your OS, install the best anti-malwares and use a VPN to reduce the risk of getting infected via World Wide Web.
