What is Malware?

Malware is any software that is specifically designed to cause damage or disruption to a computer, server, client, or computer network, leak private information, gain unauthorized access to information or systems, deprive users of access to information, or unknowingly interfere with the user’s computer security and privacy.

Malware is Malicious Software

Malware is defined as ” Malicious Software”, that enables hackers to infiltrate a website or server with open ports, that many clients do not realize are open.  Many shared hosting environments leave vulnerabilities open especially when a server is outdated with nobody managing it.  Thus, we recommend you engage us to assist you in securing your website and server.

What are Examples of Malware?

Malware is intrusive software that is designed to bypass standard security measures and in some cases, “inject code” in order to gain control of the server. They might be attempting to steal your information, or they might simply do it for malicious reasons.

Examples of common malware include:

• viruses
• worms
• Trojan viruses
• spyware
• adware
• ransomware

How Does Malware Infect a Website?

Malware can inject malicious code into a website through “backdoors”, cross-site scripting, open ports, or other malicious forms.

Malware May Change the appearance of your site.

Once a hacker or cybercriminal gets access to your server, website, or database, they may delete content on your website, change photos, or ultimately replace website content with their content, images, and messaging.

This type of attack is quite common, as some hackers enjoy the fruits of their work. As a result, returning customers and anonymous visitors may be turned off by the malware messaging, which at times may be quite an offensive language or prevent them from accessing your website. Defacements made up 14% of incidents in Q2 2018 alone, making them one of the more common and recognizable types of malware.1

Malware Hidden in Plain Site

Malware May Be Displayed in Website Advertisements

Malicious advertising, also referred to as “Malvertising”, delivers the malicious software in various ways. First, while the advertisements appear to come from the website, it actually contains malware. The malware is linked to Malicous software that may infect the user if it is downloaded and installed.

malware by prompting users to click on an ad, or through a “drive-by” download, which automatically infects a visitor when they visit the site. Cybercriminals can either inject malicious code into an advertisement or upload their own malicious ad to an ad network that distributes the ad across millions of websites at a time.

Send your visitors to other (usually malicious) sites.

If visitors to your site are redirected to another site – especially one that looks suspicious – you have been affected by a malicious redirect. According to SiteLock data, redirects are one of the more common cyberattacks, accounting for 17% of all malware infections.

Grant cybercriminals access to your site.

True to their name, backdoors are a type of malware that acts as an entry point for cybercriminals, allowing them to gain and maintain persistent access to your site. With access to your website, cybercriminals can expose sensitive customer data, alter your site’s appearance, and more. You may not notice a backdoor file, as studies show they are sophisticated enough to go undetected, yet they are popular with cybercriminals – in Q2 2018, 43 percent of infected websites had at least one backdoor file.

Place spam content on your site.

Unusual links or comments suddenly appearing on your site or a significant and sudden loss in traffic are all signs of SEO (search engine optimization) spam.

SEO spam takes advantage of two techniques used to help websites rank well in search results: the use of relevant search terms on a web page and acquiring links from outside sources. By inserting hundreds or thousands of files containing malicious backlinks and unrelated keywords into your site, cybercriminals can cause a drop in your site’s search rankings, resulting in a dramatic drop in website visits.