D is for Drive-by Download
Drive-by download is any download that happens without your knowledge or permission. It can happen just by visiting a website. You are not asked if you want to make a download nor are you informed it is happening. Frequently a deceptive popup may be used to trick you to click OK to the download. An example would be a popup that looks like an error report such as “Inactive plugin reported” along with an OK button. You click the button thinking it’s just an OK to the error report but behind the scenes it’s received as an OK to download the software. Other drive-by downloads happen by exploiting a bug in an Internet browser or the computer operating system. The download can happen without any interaction whatsoever – just by visiting the website. Keeping your browser and operating system updated helps to minimise your PCs potential risk to this type of infection but also good security software such as Spyware Doctor should also be used.
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