
An example of spear phishing would be sending emails to employees of a certain company, claiming that the CEO is asking you to take an important employee survey, or the HR department is requiring you to download and read a new policy. Spear phishing: A more targeted means to a ransomware attack is through spear phishing.All this happens without the user’s knowledge, which is why it’s often referred to as a drive-by-download. The iframe redirects to an exploit landing page, and malicious code attacks the system from the landing page via exploit kit. Often, that malware is ransomware. Malvertising often uses an infected iframe, or invisible webpage element, to do its work. These servers catalog details about victim computers and their locations, and then select the malware best suited to deliver. While browsing the web, even legitimate sites, users can be directed to criminal servers without ever clicking on an ad. Malvertising, or malicious advertising, is the use of online advertising to distribute malware with little to no user interaction required. Malvertising: Another popular infection method is malvertising.It might also contain links to malicious websites.

The email might include booby-trapped attachments, such as PDFs or Word documents. Malicious spam, or malspam, is unsolicited email that is used to deliver malware.

Some ransomware authors sell the service to other cybercriminals, which is known as Ransomware-as-a-Service or RaaS. Today, ransomware authors order that payment be sent via cryptocurrency or credit card, and attackers target individuals, businesses, and organizations of all kinds. The earliest variants of ransomware were developed in the late 1980s, and payment was to be sent via snail mail. While some people might think "a virus locked my computer," ransomware would typically be classified as a different form of malware than a virus. Ransom malware, or ransomware, is a type of malware that prevents users from accessing their system or personal files and demands ransom payment in order to regain access. LEARN MORE What is ransomware? Ransomware definition Try Malwarebytes Premium free for 14 days. Make sure your device is protected from ransomware.

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