Can you get a virus from an image on the internet?

With hackers more and more creative and new viruses are constantly being created, it has never been so easy to catch viruses on the internet, so we must always be aware of protecting ourselves. Even a search on Google Images could be exposing your computer to getting image viruses, when we access one of the more than 30 thousand websites that are hacked daily, according to IBM data. See in this text can you get a virus from an image on the internet, how to identify signs that a website is untrustworthy, and how to protect yourself from some types of known attacks.

How do you catch a virus?

Computer viruses are pieces of code or programs designed to change the way a computer works, which can slow down the computer, access sensitive information, record passwords, intercept files from your computer or cell phone, etc. To catch a virus, a file must be downloaded and executed so that it acts on the machine. The most common ways to catch a virus are: clicking on a link malicious that will download an infected file, download unknown files sent in attachment in emails or messages and access scam sites.

Are there viruses on Linux and Mac?

Most computers have the operating system Windows and users and are used to hearing about viruses for this platform, but MacBooks and computers with some distribution Linux can they get viruses too? The answer is simple: yes, any operating system can be affected by viruses, so don't rely on these stories that your device is 100% safe from threats.

The computers of Linux and the Apple are considered safer than Windows and are not major targets for virus development, both because they have a much smaller user base and because they install programs differently from the ecosystem. especially in Linux, programs are separated according to access permission, which makes the central part of the system separate only for highly privileged users, that is, it is even easier to recover a computer Linux, which also has the advantage of having a wide range of developers updating the system, as it is open source. However, none of this makes them immune to being affected by viruses.

Can cell phones get viruses?

As cell phone operating systems work similarly to computers, smartphones can also be affected by viruses in the same ways as PCs: by clicking exclusive links suspicious, accessing malicious websites, downloading files from emails sent by a stranger, etc. And, contrary to popular belief, iPhones can also get viruses.

The main difference between devices Android e iOS, in this case, is that the Android allows the user to install applications that are not present in the Play Store, which exposes that system more to malicious programs. already the iPhones only allow the installation of applications that are on the App Store, which eliminates this type of attack, however, there are other ways to catch viruses.

How images from the internet can contain viruses?

Generally the way we catch virus images is through one of the following ways: link malicious content contained in the image, image file with two extensions and steganography. An important point to note is that there are no viruses in jpg, jpeg, gif or other types of image files currently available, as it is not possible to run code through an image. In this section, we'll talk about the different types of image-borne viruses, what they are and how to protect yourself from them.

malicious link

One of the most common ways to use viruses on images is hide a malicious link in an image that piques our curiosity and, when accessed, this link downloads a malicious program onto your computer. The scheme is very similar to the spams e emails de Phishing, which can even occur on sites that supposedly offer a product. In order not to catch this type of virus, avoid — obviously — clicking on these images, but in addition, it is also recommended to install a program that indicates sites that are reliable, such as Web of Trust, which even has a browser extension to indicate safe sites.

Double extension files

There is also files that pretend to be an image, but in reality they are executable files, that is, a program that installs viruses and other types of malicious files or is the virus itself. It is possible to identify this type of file if it has a double extension, something like "file.jpg.exe“. In this case, the actual extension of this file is “.exe" it's the ".jpg” is just a way of pretending to be an image. To avoid being misled by the file name, it is recommended that you enable the option that shows the file type in the icon itself in your operating system.

Steganography or hidden code

Steganography is a technique of hide a message inside another message, often used in images. In this type of virus attack, small parts of the binary code of the images are altered, in a way that is practically imperceptible to any user and that, in itself, may not be the virus that will affect your computer, even because it is of a very small size.

However, another program can activate the malicious code in this image or else the virus can be activated when you click on the image. To protect yourself from this type of virus, use programs that detect hidden codes and, therefore, do not download or click on this type of image.

How to avoid getting image viruses

With the techniques of search optimization (SEO) being more and more widespread and known, it has become easier to get your site recommended by the search engine of the Google, which is much explored by hackers. When we click on an image in the Google Images with the left button of the mouse, it directly accesses the source site to display it in full, making us vulnerable to software malicious. However, some simple actions can make using images from the internet much safer, let's get to them.

Keep your browser up to date

These software have several security updates, which serve to: prevent the execution of code embedded in images automatically, warn that a website is not safe before allowing you to click on an image, prevent the opening of pop-ups constants and not automatically redirect to an untrusted site. This greatly reduces the chances of getting virus attacks.

Use images from trusted sources

If you need to use images professionally for your website, video or presentation, do not use the Google Images as a source for these images. Look for trusted sites that offer you to buy files or allow you to download files when you pay for a subscription. This practice also saves you from running into copyright issues when using a protected image without paying the copyright.

Check the reliability of a website

As we said before, a well-ranked site in the Google does not mean that it is reliable, as the search engine gives preference to content that is better evaluated according to its search optimization algorithm. By clicking on known, safe sites that are on lists of sites trusted by specialized services, you also greatly decrease your chances of catching image viruses.

Use cybersecurity extensions in your browser

There are several extensions for the most popular browsers — such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox e Opera — aimed at ensuring cyber security in your use. Among them are the blockers of script - such as NoScript — which aim to prevent loopholes from being used to attack your machine and ensure proper use of websites, which rely on code javascript for dynamic interactions with the page.

Keep your operating system up to date

Despite delaying the use of your computer a lot while it is updating, especially if the operating system is Windows, having the most up-to-date version of the system possible helps to prevent various types of attacks. This is because most of the updates are to improve security and remove holes found in the code.

Use a known antivirus

This is a tip that many already follow, but it is always important to emphasize the importance of antivirus, with preference for those who also have prevention against malwares. Keep this program always up to date and enable daily, real-time virus scanning to find threats as soon as they enter your system. Do not install or buy unknown antivirus or use more than one different program at the same time.

By following the tips that we present in this text, your security will be increasing and you will be able to use the Internet with much more confidence in the websites you access and the images you click.

See also other features

Did you like the cybersecurity tips? See too how to install anti virus in windows 10, how to protect your android phone from virus ou whether or not you should install an anti-virus on your iPhone.

Sources: Bullguard, The TechWire, Layers App e IBM.