An estimated 3.6 million PCs in the U.S. are infected with the Zeus Malware. Be warned: It’s one of the sneakiest, most vicious malware programs out there.
Small-business owners need to be on high alert for the latest variants of the so-called Zeus Trojan horse. This malware uses sophisticated methods to gain access to your online banking information and deplete your account balance via electronic transactions. While there are numerous pieces of malicious software that can accomplish this, Zeus is by far the worst for several reasons. First, Zeus is almost undetectable even to leading anti-virus programs; second, Zeus can fool you into thinking that the money remains in your account, so you’re unaware of the loss until it’s too late; and finally Zeus is not a static piece of software, but can morph, rendering attempts to stop it futile.
Breaking Down The Geek-Speak
Zeus is considered “malware,” which means malicious software used to gain access into a computer or computer network. There are many types of malicious software, such as viruses, which modify a computer file, and Trojan horses, which facilitate unauthorized access into a user’s computer system. A Trojan horse, in keeping with its namesake, appears innocuous to the user. Typically it’s disguised as a computer game or even a computer security application. The user installs it on his or her computer thinking it’s safe, but once it’s launched, the Trojan horse can give a hacker remote access to your computer or record all your keystrokes on your computer’s keyboard to capture username and password information. Many times users aren’t even aware a program is being downloaded to their computers. Visiting the wrong website could trigger a “drive-by download” whereby the program is downloaded without your consent.
How Zeus Works
There are several million computers currently infected with Zeus and many thousands of Web servers as well. If you click on an email attachment or visit a website that’s infected, it triggers a “drive-by download” that installs Zeus. Once Zeus is installed on your computer, it waits until you log in to your online banking website and records your access information. Since many websites now ask security questions in addition to passwords,
