In the past, you would get a computer virus one of two main ways. Either the virus maker would build a virus complex enough to dial up your computer through the internet itself, or they would attach their virus to an email message and let your email spread the virus for them. Now, though, virus makers are increasingly turning to a new method to spread their virus. This method, called a supply chain attack, skips the complexity of having the virus do its own network access and skips the heavily defended email route. Instead, virus writers are gaining access to update servers that belong to popular applications and replacing the legitimate version of an app with a copy that has a virus embedded inside. What tends to happen is that back on your computer your application sees that a new version is ready to download and does so automatically.

The end result? You and millions of others using well known, trusted applications can suddenly wind up with a virus through no fault of your own. So, what can you do about it? Well, the standard defense of running an antivirus program will help some. You might still get infected, but hopefully your antivirus of choice will update its list of known viruses and quickly quarantine the infected program. Another thing you can do is turn off automatic updating on the applications you use. Sure, you might not get the latest and greatest updates on day one, but it might be worth it to avoid potential first day viruses.

Think your computer has already been infected with a virus or what help securing your computer against these new “supply chain” type attacks? Computer Repair in Tyler can help! Not only can we scan your computer for viruses, we can install a good antivirus application on your computer and help you adjust other settings to make your computer more resilient to attacks.