The internet can be a dangerous place. You have to be cautious about the links, email attachments, and things you open from the internet because there’s a possibility that you may end up infecting your computer. There are virus and malware protection tools — both paid and free — but it’s still important to be smart and cautious. The vendors of protection tools work hard to make sure their protection tools are up-to-date with latest virus and malware definitions and Microsoft has recently shown some fruits of that work in the form of more protection from malicious software.
Microsoft’s Malicious Software Removal Tool can protect users from a wide range of infections and malware problems, provided that you update it on a regular basis. Yesterday, Microsoft added a number of new virus and malware definitions to the Malicious Software Removal Tool, including Win32/Vawtrak, Win32/Critroni and Win32/Kasidet.
Critroni is a type of malware family which can lock your files and asks you to pay ransom in order to unlock them. On the other hand, Kasidet is an information stealing malware which steals your private information and sends it over to the remote attacker. Microsoft described Vawtrak as “a family of information-stealing malware that can be used to steal banking credentials. It is also known as NeverQuest and Snifula.”
Microsoft’s other security products, such as Windows Defender for Windows 10, also include detection for Vawtrak and other types of malware. To be safe, make sure to keep your Malicious Software Removal Tool and Windows Defender up-to-date with the latest updates — even if you rely on third-party antivirus software.
Also make sure not to open email attachments or download files from untrusted sources as that’s a common method for attackers to infect your system. It’s also important to be smart about which sites you visit.
While no protection method is fool proof, it’s important for companies such as Microsoft to regularly update their protections as they have recently.
Further reading: malicious software removal tool, Microsoft, Security
