Skip to main content

Tag: Pandemic

Be wary of emails and messages from unknown senders!

On May 04, 2000, Windows computer users received an email with a malicious attachment. Then in just ten days, fifty million infections were reported. An estimated 10% of the internet-connected computers were infected by the ILOVEYOU virus. 

The infamous ILOVEYOU virus created a massive effect on internet-connected computers that costed more than $10 billion to removthe infection and to recover deleted files from backupsAs big as the economic impact, even the Pentagon, the CIA and the U.K. Parliament all closed down their email systems in response to this pandemic computer virus. 

The ILOVEYOU virus controlled the news headlines globally left and right. The spread of the computer virus quickly affected the victims because at that time no one knew about the threat in the first place.  

How ILOVEYOU became the first global computer virus pandemic 

The ILOVEYOU virus, known as the Love Bug at that time, is described as an infectious virus that was being spread differently. Just like all viruses, it requires a ‘host file’ that needs to be activated in order for the infection to take hold. Copies of that host then need to be activated for the computer to be ruled out as “infected”. Computer viruses are also known as worms. For while a worm is self-replicating – it can spread itself by scattering multiple copies of itself across a network without any activation or human intervention. 

When the infection started on May 04, 2000, it was also the same arrival of a spammed email message in the Philippines with the subject line of ILOVEYOU with an instruction to read the attached document from a supposedly love letter from the sender. Moreover, ILOVEYOU was one of the first major computer virus outbreaks and was one of the first to determine how spam can be a time-wasting annoyance. With just an executed Visual Basic script, the opening of that love letter attachment was not a document at all and used as a smart trick to hide the effect from the victim at that time. 

The Visual Basic script file extension of .vbs was hidden by default from Windows computers. A file called “LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.txt.vbs” appeared to all its targets and tenacities to be a text document as the last file extension was not shown. By the act of opening the document, the execution of the script and the ILOVEYOU worm was set free on that computer and others it was connected to. The ILOVEYOU virus would also look under the user’s Microsoft Outlook Windows address book and send copies to all contacts. 

Historical warnings about global virus dangers were imposed way back 

According to Colin Childs, senior security architect at Octopi Managed Services, they have compiled a historical hacking archive aimed at the security researchers and members of the broader InfoSEC community. Childs was able to find a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) advisory document dated as early as September 22, 1989 – eleven years before the spread of the ILOVEYOU virus! 

As viruses spread quickly and cause widespread damage, they created a bigger risk especially for personal computers which have fewer protection features and are often used by non-technical-oriented people. To date, this has changed the way we view the Internet and how we need to be wary when it comes to opening emails from unknown senders.  

ILOVEYOU virus in today’s pandemic situation that caused a fundamental shift in cyber-threat landscape 

The ILOVEYOU virus caused a big fundamental shift in the cyber-threat landscape for all the reasons known. It is an act of cyber-attack through emotions by tricking users into false sense of trust. The subject alone brought about curiosity from the user if it’s from someone he/she knew – and to make it worst, falling for the trick automatically affects the rest of your contact list without anyone’s knowledge at all.  

As for today’s pandemic situation, many businesses are shifting to the digital space in order to connect to their customers and continue their business operations. One such popular marketing tool companies use is email marketing, which, with one click of a button, allows mass sending of emails to a client database. But with the history of ILOVEYOU comes the downside of email marketing. Instead, others have resulted to email marketing as a means to spread misinformation or to steal personal information and contact details.  

Using a Secure Hosting Solution for your business website 

Apart from personal email threats, business website owners should also know how to protect their website from malicious viruses 

When it comes to your website security, we recommend integrating Sitelocka malware detection software that can give website owners a heads up whenever your website is experiencing any threats.  

Just as well, and as all websites are constantly at the risk of crashes and data loss, a backup service called CodeGuard, assures that your entire website will always have an updated backup on standby, ready to be recovered in case of any losses in data. 

For businesses looking for secure business email solutions and for teams who are looking to collaborate seamlessly across different platforms and programs on the Cloud, Google’s G Suite or Microsoft’s Office 365 might just be the solution for you. Not only can iManila help set up your business emails but we can also provide 24/7 support for any technical needs and concerns. 

And finally, for good measure, always make sure that your website is secure by integrating a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificate. Having a valid and integrated SSL on your website gives users the security they need when leaving their contact details on your website.  

Having been in the IT industry for more than 23 years, iManila can help you improve your website security and your business emails with a variety of solutions. Trust that with us, you can sleep soundly knowing that you have a partner to help you keep your website and emails secure. Know more about our Hosting solutions here: https://imanila.ph/hosting/. If you want to learn more, drop us an email at [email protected] 

How Google and Facebook are Responding to COVID-19 Hoaxes

As the COVID-19 has been declared a global pandemic, false information has become more and more prevalent online. Social media users tend to believe the misinformation that they read without having enough source to support their claim. Many fake sites post on social media what should be done in order to stop the said virus, while others post to ask for funds to “help patients in need”, when in reality the money will just go into their personal pockets.

The good news is a lot of social media websites have been working closely in coordination with government agencies regarding the COVID-19, in order to resolve the continuous spread of fake news.

Recently, Facebook started inserting a box into news feed which directs users to the Centers for Disease control pages regarding the coronavirus. This essentially helps users determine the right page to go to, as a lot of scammers have been using this opportunity and time of crisis to take peoples’ donations by pretending to be health organizations. Through the help of Centers for Disease control page, users will be able to filter the latest information about the COVID-19 by only reading factual information.

facebook coronavirus

Image from: mobihealthnews

On the other hand, Google is trying to manage all the information related to COVID-19, by limiting the approval of articles or actions related to the virus. This limitation is Google’s solution to preventing misinformation from going viral on its platform. Google Assistant has approved new actions that will reject a whole host of violations. This is the strategy of Google to battle against fake news and lies on the Internet.

coivd-google

Image from: voicebot.ai

In summary, all social media users should always be smart in choosing what to believe in and in choosing what they share online. There’s a lot of information going around in the Internet world! Make sure to always get your facts straight and only listen to reliable sources avoid misinformation. One share goes a long way!

Despite the pandemic and community quarantine, iManila’s lines remain open on how we can help you keep your business going despite this global lockdown. Drop us an email at [email protected]. Stay safe!