Unbeknownst to most people, while they’re sound asleep, their computer could be hard at work, recruited to be a part of a so-called “botnet,” a global network of robot computers, hijacked by cybercriminals to work as part of a giant zombie network.
If you think this sounds like the plot for a new 007 movie, think again. It’s state of the art cybercrime at the dawn of the 21st century. And, despite intensified efforts of security researchers, cyber attacks are only getting more numerous and sophisticated every day.
Cybercrime has turned into a global industry, and it is expanding fast. You may not read much about it in the newspapers, but that’s only because many online scams remain undetected and unreported. By some estimates, the cost of cybercrime is now $1 trillion a year , and the number of attacks is growing by leaps and bounds.
So-called phishing emails have been a particularly successful means for scammers or malicious individuals to hook potential victims. Phishing schemes often use a combination of email and bogus web sites to trick unsuspecting computer users into giving out private information online. Phishing emails make you vulnerable to identity theft and fraudulent use of your credit card information. Of even greater concern is the fact that through the hyperlinks in phishing emails, criminals may install malware on your computer, which recruits your computer to be part of a large botnet used by cyber-intruders to pull off large-scale, globe-spanning web scams. ...
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