Zero day viruses are malware that have never been recorded before and are difficult to block by antivirus software. But protecting yourself is possible, here's how
When we read about new cyber threats, we often come across attacks that are labeled as "zero day". What does this wording mean, and how can we defend our electronic devices from these particular viruses?
Translated into Italian zero day means zero days. And this is the time that security programs have to respond to malware. Basically, it is a new virus that is not yet known. Defining a zero day malware as a simple computer threat that has never been recorded before is reductive. There are in fact two types of zero-day attacks. There are zero day vulnerabilities, which represent a flaw in the protection of a software present on a browser or an application. And then there are zero day exploits, which represent an attack that exploits zero day vulnerabilities in order to install malicious software on a device.
Who generates zero day attacks
It is very difficult to understand where zero day attacks come from. Although generally it is a cyber criminal or a group of hackers who discovered a given vulnerability and started exploiting it for their own interests. According to various analyses, the most exploited flaws are those within browser services and email applications. Unfortunately, it's virtually impossible to detect a zero-day vulnerability or exploit, because if they were detected, they would no longer be zero-day attacks. This makes it very complicated for the average user to defend themselves against these threats. However, there is a way to increase our computer security and prevent zero-day viruses. In fact, some antivirus programs have behavior detection algorithms that can detect suspicious or malicious actions typical of a zero-day attack. There is usually not much the user has to do to remove such a virus. It will be up to the security software provider to release a patch that will be able to fix the vulnerabilities on the device. Obviously we will have to remember to update the program constantly. Another tip to avoid falling victim to zero-day attacks is to surf the Internet exclusively on known and reliable sites. There are also useful tips to prevent other computer threats. Therefore, we avoid opening email attachments or links of dubious origin and, in addition to the antivirus, we always update the operating system of our device.