What are the main causes of computer virus infections?

One of the doors through which hackers can be allowed access to our devices, for example, is not their skill in software, cracking, or even social engineering, but rather their remarkable ability to detect vulnerabilities, especially if we have become too confident thinking that our antivirus will be enough as a line of defense.

Main causes

We must be clear that in many cases, the main cause is ourselves, either due to carelessness or ignorance, as we open the doors of our computer wide open—something inherently bad, but much worse if the computer is networked with the rest of the company.

Although social networks may seem harmless regarding viruses, the truth is that countless links are shared through them every day, which sometimes tempts us to open them. To make them more tempting, a link is accompanied by a reference to a special or trending event to try to get more people to click on it.

These links redirect us to a malicious infected website, to legitimate sites that have been compromised, or even to sites designed to mimic the official website of a well-known company, with the aim of stealing credentials or carrying out a drive-by-download attack, thus infecting the deceived person with malware.

Another common mistake is not updating software, which can allow data to be exposed and stolen. Countless cases of identity theft and security issues occur, something that could be avoided by updating our software.

The reuse of passwords may be convenient for users, but it is still irresponsible. It is important to use a different password for each software or website, and it is much better if it is alphanumeric and contains symbols to make it harder for attackers.

Downloading from third-party websites or unofficial sources is another major threat for the most trusting people. If you want to download software, it should always be downloaded from the original website.

Finally, another aspect to keep in mind, which we recommend from our  IT maintenance company in Barcelona , is that you should never transmit sensitive information over Wi-Fi, especially over open Wi-Fi networks, which is another door through which software infections can arrive.