TECH TALK WITH GEMAL HUMMAD
LIVING WITH MALWARE IN INTERNET AGE In the past two decades, the Internet
browsers deliver malware to your
has changed the mass media
computer.
landscape at warp speed. It has been summarily accepted and relied
We now know Pegasus of NSO
on to manage our daily lives. But it
Group is used by state spy agencies
also poses a consistent threat to our
on mobile devices to track down
security and wellbeing.
persons of interest. Ransomware was recently used successfully to
Edge, Chrome and Safari are de
attack very large US companies’
facto web browsers installed
networks resulting in temporary
on your computer along with
crippling of their IT systems. This
operating systems Windows,
highlighted the reality that no
Chrome OS and OSX. But free they
computing device is safe from
are not. They provide a handsome
attack. While Pegasus is seemingly
profit to the software makers
impossible to stave off, there is
surreptitiously because they
much you can do to minimize the
are tools for collecting personal
risk of garden variety malware and
data that is used in advertising
ransomware attacks .
campaigns. Along with email,
22 MELANISTIC
