Without SMS and registration: where the user can catch the virus

[Father]

The modern world of digital technologies is an endless amount of content for every taste. But when searching for free platforms where you can download videos, games, books, programs, or apps without SMS or registration, users often face a potential threat in the form of viruses.

In modern realities, sanctions have made their contribution. A number of programs are literally easier for a Russian user to download from a torrent than to do it from an official resource. This also includes entertainment content. In this article, we'll look at what resources you can use to catch malware and what you can do to keep your device safe.

Torrent trackers​

The torrent program is a utility that allows you to share files with other users. One of the main advantages of torrents is high download speed, especially if there are several sources (sids) that download and provide files. However, you should be careful, as sometimes viruses can be spread inside torrent files.

Kai Mikhailov
Head of Information Security at iTPROTECT

The use of torrent trackers is not just associated with piracy and other, at best, "gray" elements of the Internet. Although major torrent trackers do conduct minimal content moderation for viruses or Trojans, these are just basic checks. Some giveaways may contain "bookmarks". These can be additional software modules, or, for example, in OS distributions, registered backdoors to certain IP addresses. Such things are more difficult to detect, because they no longer need to perform any installation or other actions required by the same Trojans.

At the same time, there is no denying that torrent trackers are often used as platforms for downloading legitimate content that is already publicly available in official sources. There is a way to check the distribution for potential danger-this is checking the hash amount, which is indicated in the information for the distribution. You can enter it on a special resource, such as VirusTotal, and see if it has been checked before and how many times. If your check for this amount is the first, you should abandon the idea of downloading this particular distribution.

Users usually do not have complete information about the contents of the file they are going to download. This is especially true for young and older users. They see the file with the desired name, click "Download", and then immediately launch it without any additional checks. And the infection occurs exactly at this moment — when you try to install a program or open a file from a torrent network.

File sharing services​

On file sharing sites, users can find everything they want — books, games, videos, and so on. And all this for free, with high download speed and without mandatory registration. Tempting, but that's where the catch lies. Such resources often contain malicious programs, viruses, and other malicious content and send out infected files. By running such a file on your device, instead of a movie for a romantic evening, the user will get a lot of problems.

Alexander Zubrikov
General Director ITGLOBAL.COM Security

File sharing services do not provide direct protection against viruses. All files downloaded from such resources may contain malicious code. This is due to the fact that the content is hosted by users, and not by official providers. This increases the risk.

In most cases, file sharing services do not strictly moderate content. Although some sites have tried to implement reputation or review systems that help users evaluate the security of a file, these mechanisms do not always work effectively. This means that the risks of encountering malicious content remain high.

You can get infected with a virus on a file sharing site using one of the following scenarios::

1. Several files are packed in an archive, and one of them contains a malicious object.
2. The user uploads the file, considering it safe, but in reality it contains malicious code that is activated when the file is opened or launched.
3. One of the ways to spread viruses can be to change the file name, disguise it as a document or a known extension.

Unfortunately, most file sharing sites are not secure. There you can catch not only viruses, but also litter your device with potentially unwanted programs that will automatically get to you through hidden installers.

App Stores​

Unlike torrents and file sharing sites, popular app stores are moderated more carefully. The moderation algorithms themselves, for example, in the App Store and Google Play, differ from each other and are constantly being improved.

But cybercriminals regularly find loopholes for introducing malicious or phishing applications. The most trivial example is a flashlight app that requires access to a microphone or contacts to work.

More than half of Russians aged 18 to 50 years have personally experienced infection of their gadgets with viruses. This is not surprising — this age group is the most active in downloading apps.

Kamil Sadykov
Leading Information Security Analyst at Innostage
App stores such as Google Play and the App Store usually provide moderation against malicious and fraudulent apps. Before the app gets to the store, it passes a check that includes scanning for malicious code. However, this does not guarantee complete security. Sometimes the creators of a malicious app can bypass detection systems or use deceptive mechanisms to steal the victim's money. Therefore, app stores are actively working to improve their systems for detecting and responding to new threats, and they are adding sandboxes for running applications at the operating system level.

Viruses for mobile devices don't just block or slow down your device. They intercept online banking messages, send expensive text messages to paid numbers, and turn the phone into an obedient robot controlled by an attacker. It is quite easy to get infected if:

• Download APKs from unofficial sources.
• Grant rights to an application that doesn't need any of this. For example, you should be alerted by a flashlight app that requires access to contacts and rights to make phone calls and send text messages before downloading.

The situation is particularly acute, for example, with the applications of a number of Russian banks that have been removed from Western stores. However, the situation is partly improving as Russian app stores become more popular, such as RuStore for owners of Android devices.

Phishing sites and emails​

The main method of infecting computers for many years remains phishing. Attackers place malicious software on seemingly harmless Internet resources. It is clear that you can't catch the virus through the Google search engine or the social network VKontakte, but if you open a little-known entertainment portal, you are at risk.

Free archives of music and movies, streaming services with new TV shows, humor, erotica and "shocking" news — these portals are literally overflowing with pop-ups. If you click the "play" button, the infected ad opens in the background tab. One click of the mouse, go to the page of intruders and all-the virus got on the device.

Viruses often get to your device via a phishing email. Malicious program codes can be found in the form of installation files, zip archives, or Word documents.

Dmitry Ovchinnikov
Chief Specialist of the Integrated Information Security Systems Department of Gazinformservis

Two other popular ways to get a virus on board your PC are phishing messages on social networks or via email. The virus can also be placed on some not very popular resource on the Internet. But, the chances of picking it up in the process of regular web surfing are quite small. But if you are looking for something semi-legal, pirated software or free software, then the chances of running into malware are much higher.

Well, the last option for getting a virus to your computer is to use someone else's flash drives. They may contain viruses that will be copied to your computer immediately after the flash drive is inserted into the USB port. Therefore, you need to protect yourself with antivirus software.

Removable media​

Discarding flash drives has become a real byword in the context of the work of pentesters. However, there are relatively few cases where attackers deliberately use flash cards as a way to deliver malware in the public field.

Not only flash drives are dangerous, but also microSD memory cards, removable hard drives, etc.And this is not surprising. After all, removable media can be repeatedly connected to various devices, which makes them ideal carriers of viruses.

Resume​

Viruses are everywhere in the information world, just like in the analog world. And if in normal life, whether you get sick when you encounter a sneezing neighbor or not depends on the level of your immunity, then with computers and gadgets it's the same. So here are some useful tips on how to boost your equipment's immunity.:

1. Download content on the official pages of creators and their partners (copyright holders). This is not only a guarantee of the quality of the materials used, but also their safety.
2. Pay attention to the extension of the downloaded file and its size. The extension must match the content, and the file is too "light" or "heavy" to cause suspicion.
3. When working with file sharing sites, do not download any additional installers, even if the site really asks for it.
4. Be sure to check your downloaded files with an antivirus program installed on your PC or online.
5. Be wary of incoming emails, messages in instant messengers, and social networks. Check the sender and don't click on suspicious links.
6. Regularly update the antivirus software on your device.

These tips will help you significantly increase your device's immunity to virus attacks and protect yourself from data loss or gadget breakage.