Drive-by downloads, pieces of spyware, computer viruses or any kind of malware that surreptitiously inject bad code into your PC, have consequences that are the cyberspace equivalent of a real world attack by the Crips or Bloods.
They can be triggered when a user clicks on anything that appears harmless, such as a PC error report or an innocent-looking pop-up advertisement. The user is generally totally unaware that a malicious software download has been initiated.
How does it work? Firstly, the scammers inject bad code into popular websites and, unfortunately, there’s no way to tell which ones have been infected. Studies show that around 13 000 websites are infected every day, and even the top 100 websites in the world have all been infected with bad code.
The bad code looks for vulnerabilities on PC gateways and uses them to download more malware. After that, it’s easy. Cybercriminals can use this malware to steal information like contact details e-mails, bank details, or even the user’s personal identity particulars. The first time the user becomes aware of the drive-by is by noticing a greatly diminished bank balance.
The best way to prevent drive-by downloads is to allow your PC to run system updates - they’re not just there to annoy you! And get yourself some good Internet security software – it really is worth it.
Watch a YouTube video on drive-by downloads here.