Malware is one of the main threats we face when browsing the Internet from any device. There are different types of malware and the most dangerous ones are Trojans bank camouflaged as regular apps. You can avoid most of these menaces by ignoring strange messages and links from unknown people. But Malvertising is a new form of malware that may infect you when you don’t pay attention.
Malvertising takes the form of ads on any infected website and you may click on the banner and get infected if you are not careful. The term is born from the combination of malicious and advertising and it refers to false ads that hide malware to try and steal your data.
How does malvertising infect your devices with malware?
The main danger of malvertising is that you can have problems to detect it. This increases the probability of infection. The main objective of a malvertising campaign is infecting the victim’s device through ads. They insert malicious code after the user clicks on the banner.
According to a Crowdstrike article, hackers use false ads and redirect the user to malicious websites to steal personal information. They may even invite you to download an app that it’s in fact a virus.
In order to share false ads, the hackers include and ads net to share the same malware in several banners at the same type. Malvertising is the name of the technique they use to distribute malware through ads and the risk may vary depending on the virus they infect your computer with.
Malwarebytes recently warned about a new case of malvertising regarding Google Authenticator app. The hackers put an ad to the popular 2 Factor Authentication app from Google but it was in fact a false website.
Once you enter the website, the victim downloads a Window malware that catches user credentials, cookies and other browser stored information. It’s not the only malware related to Google ads. There are also reports of identity theft in Arc browser ads.
It’s not easy to prevent malvertising but there are some general tips you can follow. First of all, keep your device always updated. Disable all the web browser extensions you don’t use and avoid downloading apps from unofficial sources.