Have you ever heard of the term "zero day virus"? This is a terminology that is coming back in the world of computer security and antivirus solutions. The concept of viruses is so mundane that it's understandable on its own, but what makes a virus "zero day" and what does that mean to you and trying to stay safe when do you browse the internet?
ContentsWhat does day zero mean?What does day zero mean for viruses?The problemThe solutionHow can I stay safe?Conclusion
So if zero-day means a vulnerability is exploited and used before developers realize it, what does that mean for viruses? Who are the zero-day viruses trying to sneak in?
For a virus to be worth distributing, it must be able to successfully deploy to other people's computers. In the early days of the Internet, viruses could spread like wildfire and cause serious damage to the point that some of them have become infamous examples of what viruses can do. Of course, users now know how dangerous viruses can be and often have anti-virus software installed. Not only that, but free antiviruses have become very adept at their job, allowing more people to be properly protected than ever before. This makes it much harder for a virus to do damage.
The key to infecting a PC with a virus is therefore to sneak under the antivirus. It does this by exploiting the fact that antivirus won't know what it is. For antivirus to accurately identify which programs are safe and which are malicious, it must use the virus definitions provided to it by its developer. Antivirus then uses these definitions to identify and eliminate threats. Of course, if a virus lands on a computer and its antivirus has no definition, it can go unnoticed.
This is how a zero-day virus works. Being a new virus, antivirus software has a definition. This means they can gain access to PCs and avoid detection, allowing them to do damage. Meanwhile, antivirus developers won't realize that this virus is doing the trick. Once it starts having an impact, antivirus developers will understand and study how the virus works. Once identified, they can then develop a definition of the virus and send it to their users in an antivirus update, thereby stopping the virus. This means that zero-day viruses are generally very short-lived, so virus developers will want their program to hit as hard and fast as possible before their virus stops.
The thought of a virus that your antivirus can't detect might sound scary, but don't worry too much! As usual, the best antivirus is careful and smart web browsing. Don't download any suspicious files or click on any strange links, and you should be safe.
Also, make sure your antivirus has up-to-date definitions. Viruses are identified and documented daily so that computers around the world can defend against these threats. Make sure your antivirus catches these new definitions and keeps up to date with viruses. If your antivirus is powerful, it will use methods other than virus definitions to detect viruses. This means that even zero-day viruses will have a hard time sneaking past, which makes them very valuable!
With antivirus solutions becoming commonplace, virus developers need to make their programs hit hard and fast before antivirus developers distribute a definition for it. Although quite scary at first, you can stay safe by surfing the web vigilantly and keeping your antivirus updated. Now you know what a zero-day virus is, why it is dangerous and how to protect yourself.
Have you ever caught a virus despite running antivirus software in the background? Let us know below.
