Hackers found a new way to enter our system consists of a USB memory stick in the mailbox. So don’t plug in any unknown USB stick into your computer or laptop. As it could infect your PC or laptop with dangerous malware and viruses. Australia’s Victoria Police Force reported this week about a tiny number of storage units have been found in mailboxes of residents in a suburb of Pakenham.
Whatever the case may be, if a strange USB drive happens to find its way in your mailbox, be sure to destroy it. Checking its contents out of curiosity or hoping to uncover its owner is not worth the risk of compromising not only your computer, but your personal data too.
The warning, published on the official website of the Victoria Police, one of Australia’s state police departments, investigated that, “Members of the public are allegedly finding unmarked USB drives in their letterboxes. Upon inserting the USB drives into their computers victims have experienced fraudulent media streaming service offers, as well as other serious issues [malware]. The USB drives are believed to be extremely harmful and members of the public are urged to avoid plugging them into their computers or other devices”.
USB drives can be an effective way to spread malware among computer users. People are often intrigued when they find a USB stick, connecting it to their PC to see what's on it. Malware is then loaded from the drive. It can run in the background without the user's knowledge and could be present on devices that appear to be empty of files. Moreover, this malware could access certain personal information that could be found on the computer or even it could also lock your computer until you have paid a kind of ransom.
Even, it may also contain malicious software which once activated then it can read keystrokes, giving access to the names of users along with the passwords and other sensitive information as well. As the possibilities are endless, hence, it is much better to take early safety measures simply to avoid all these data breaches or hackings.
The devices have been used in the past to carry and deliver viruses to computers, and have been referred to by cybersecurity experts as “critically flawed”. They have been shown to be able to infect almost any computer without its knowledge.
However, a recent study conducted by students at the University of Illinois found that nearly half of 297 thumb-sized storage drives randomly placed around the campus were picked up and inserted into machines.
According to the study, had the sticks involved been infected, the "attack" would have had an estimated success rate of between 45% and 98%, the university said. "Some users may become distrustful at the stage only when the software asks them to download a program, but Word files can still be harmful.
If any of you find or receive any unknown USB stick in the postbox or anywhere else, then beware and make sure you don’t plug it into your laptop or computer or the only place you should go is to the trash to get rid of it without hesitation.
Whatever the case may be, if a strange USB drive happens to find its way in your mailbox, be sure to destroy it. Checking its contents out of curiosity or hoping to uncover its owner is not worth the risk of compromising not only your computer, but your personal data too.
The warning, published on the official website of the Victoria Police, one of Australia’s state police departments, investigated that, “Members of the public are allegedly finding unmarked USB drives in their letterboxes. Upon inserting the USB drives into their computers victims have experienced fraudulent media streaming service offers, as well as other serious issues [malware]. The USB drives are believed to be extremely harmful and members of the public are urged to avoid plugging them into their computers or other devices”.
USB drives can be an effective way to spread malware among computer users. People are often intrigued when they find a USB stick, connecting it to their PC to see what's on it. Malware is then loaded from the drive. It can run in the background without the user's knowledge and could be present on devices that appear to be empty of files. Moreover, this malware could access certain personal information that could be found on the computer or even it could also lock your computer until you have paid a kind of ransom.
Even, it may also contain malicious software which once activated then it can read keystrokes, giving access to the names of users along with the passwords and other sensitive information as well. As the possibilities are endless, hence, it is much better to take early safety measures simply to avoid all these data breaches or hackings.
The devices have been used in the past to carry and deliver viruses to computers, and have been referred to by cybersecurity experts as “critically flawed”. They have been shown to be able to infect almost any computer without its knowledge.
However, a recent study conducted by students at the University of Illinois found that nearly half of 297 thumb-sized storage drives randomly placed around the campus were picked up and inserted into machines.
According to the study, had the sticks involved been infected, the "attack" would have had an estimated success rate of between 45% and 98%, the university said. "Some users may become distrustful at the stage only when the software asks them to download a program, but Word files can still be harmful.
If any of you find or receive any unknown USB stick in the postbox or anywhere else, then beware and make sure you don’t plug it into your laptop or computer or the only place you should go is to the trash to get rid of it without hesitation.
Beware, Malicious USB Sticks Delivered To People’s Mailboxes
Reviewed by Tech Ugly
on
Friday, September 23, 2016
Rating:
Reviewed by Tech Ugly
on
Friday, September 23, 2016
Rating:
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