Cyber-crooks can steal your first and last name, your phone number, your ID card number, your email address and even your bank account numbers and login details, as dangerous as this might be.
But, what do cyber-crooks do with your personal details?
Mainly they use them to commit fraud. It’s easy money. They can also profit from selling this data to third parties for commercial purposes. What’s more, they can send emails hiding spyware and/or dangerous banking Trojans designed to hijack computers and steal the banking data you provide when buying online, monitor your browsing habits, etc.
You might think only big companies are susceptible to cyber attacks as, in comparison to that, what might be worth stealing from individual users? Well, don’t fool yourself into thinking you are not at risk… Cyber-crooks’ greed has no limits.
In my opinion, out of the many different types of spyware programs and their variants, banking Trojans are the most worrying by far due to their capacity to invade your privacy without you noticing.
How do Trojans get in?
They install themselves without you noticing when you download contents from a website, install a free application or surf dubious Web pages.
How to protect yourself from threats
- Use your common sense. If you receive an email message with an attachment from an unknown source, delete it.
- Be careful when surfing the Web. Avoid downloading programs from unfamiliar or dubious websites. And even if you know the source, stay alert and take all necessary precautions before opening them. Use a Virtual Browser for more safety.
- Neutralize keyloggers, programs used by cyber-crooks to capture and store your keystrokes. Use a Virtual Keyboard to enter confidential data (bank details, your credit card number, etc.) securely.
- Finally and most importantly, protect yourself with an up-to-date antivirus program, regardless of whether you have a Windows or Mac computer.
Let us remind you that you can find the answer to any queries you might have about your product in the articles posted on the Panda Security support website, or by contacting our expert technicians in the Tech Support forum.