Malvertising | What the Tech? scam alert

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (WHAT THE TECH?) — Most of us know not to click on strange links in emails but hackers are using websites to install malware.

Google the wrong thing, click on the link and you can be a victim. Infostealer installs malware the traditional ways but is especially good at using websites and searches.

Google and Bing searches for things like “PDF converters”, “free downloads” and “game cheats”
reportedly return infected websites. Some even appear at the top of the search results as
sponsored ads.

There’s even a name for this: Malvertising.

If a user clicks on the website, Infostealer installs malware that can steal credentials, financial information, and more. In seconds, it runs silently on the computer so that users never suspect anything is going on. Downloads of free software are especially risky. A few websites offer free or deeply discounted software for games and utilities. Avoid these sites and any free software downloads.

Though the malware runs in the background, you could notice the computer running slower, installing extensions or logging you out of programs and sites. If anything like this happens, unplug the computer from the internet, run an updated virus program.

Visit HaveIBeenPwned.com, enter your passwords. If any show up as being included in a data breach, change them immediately.

It’s critical to keep computers, browsers, and programs up to date. If you see there’s a security update on anything you use, install it immediately.

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