Page 41 - Cyber Defense eMagazine September 2022

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Antivirus Software

Keeping your computer safe is essential and one of the ways to do that is by installing antivirus software.
Additionally, a new computer or laptop will likely come with a year's worth of antivirus. If it doesn't, enquire
about it at the shop you are buying it from. You might be able to pay a little extra for antivirus software to
be installed on your computer.

There are many fake antivirus software out there that exist. However, these are also easy to spot. It will
usually appear when downloading a file or on a website. A popup will come on your screen and say “your
computer is now infected with a virus” or something along those lines. Avoid clicking on these downloads
at all costs because once you do, they will install a virus onto your computer.

These are very common but also easy to spot. The only time you should trust an error is through your
antivirus software. If you don’t have one on your computer already, we suggest you go out and buy one.
You can even buy anti-virus software from Amazon if you want to buy them from a trusted website. Some
of the best antivirus software include; Bitdefender Antivirus, Norton, Trend Micro Antivirus and others.

Investment Scams

If you are active on social media and follow many people, you may already know what we are talking
about. These are very common in the past decade and seem to be the most common during Covid. A lot
of people were getting into investment and buying stocks and cryptocurrency.
Scammers browse pages about investment and cryptocurrencies to see who follows them. They will then
reach out to these people because they know they are interested in investing. Furthermore, the scammer
will promise a ridiculous return for only putting a small amount in. For example, they may ask you to put
in £10 and promise a £1000 return or even more.

If someone reaches out to you through social media, text message or even email then avoid these at all
costs. They are a scam and will take the money off you and never speak to you again. Although you
might think that you are not putting in a lot of money, they are probably doing this to hundreds, if not
thousands of people. That is how they make their money.

Finally, Fake Shopping Pages

Another common scam is fake shopping websites and pages. If you are new to online shopping, this is a
scam which is easy to fall for. During the festive period, you may come across a lot of brands that are
new to you.

The question is, how do you spot a fake brand? Well, it is really easy. One of the first things you should
do is check social media platforms to see if they have a page. If they do, check the comments section on
their posts to see if people are commenting about the product. Additionally, you want to ensure there are
a variety of opinions on there and not just one-sided. Sometimes, websites pretend to be other brands,
ensuring it is the official URL and not a fake.

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