As the economy declines it becomes easier for some cyber criminals to prey on the general population that is not aware of the risks that are waiting for them online. In the latest news a extensive study was done revealing that some search terms can bring results that are unsafe for your computer, not the search itself but the results that it provides can be links that endanger your computer and privacy. These terms when typed in known search engines will provide various results that by clicking on them you will download a malicious software.

The idea that you can download a malicious software by clicking on a link is most definitely distressing , but it is not something strange or that comes as a surprise in any way. The reality is that those terrifying viruses have been around almost since the inception of the Internet and will be here most probably for ever. In short be very attentive as to the links that you click on to make sure that they are of a trusted source.

This problem progresses at the speed of the news. The study found that many of the malicious links follow the news. Basically everything that is happening in the news today will have malicious links tomorrow when a search is done on them. This is a badly under-reported crime. The reality is that no one knows what’s the amount of money lost to companies and individuals. But it is probably approximated in the millions if not billions.

There has been a dramatic metamorphosis in what is called malware. The anti-virus companies have been lagging behind this whole issue because it is impossible to predict what the resourcefulness of these cyber criminals will come up with next. The speed in which this problem is transforming is mind blowing. It went from a hacker in a basement, to organized cyber crime to now, literally, terrorism and other forms of organized geopolitical attacks.

The fact that the government of the United States is getting involved in these issues gives a perspective as to the vastness of the problem. Earlier this year President Barack Obama announced the creation of a post in his administrations to oversee “a new comprehensive approach to securing America’s digital infrastructure.” The reality is that any computer that is not protected and is connected to the Internet is at risk of being attacked . Including state and military assets. It almost appears to be like the world was not ready for the internet, and now people are trying to catch up.

One of the problems that cyber-crime poses for the law is that it is extremely hard to prosecute since the hackers know how to hide their trails very effectively and thus make it close to impossible to catch these criminals. If a complete search is done on the number of arrests that exist for misuse of the Internet you will find that the vast majority of the actual convictions come from child abuse and child pornography. This is a very easy crime to prosecute since the information that has been downloaded from the Internet generally leaves a trail in the hard drives of the perpetrators and is retrievable even after it has been erased hence providing indisputable evidence to the authorities.

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