傅穎

Cyber-attacks may sound like something that happens only in Hollywood movies. You picture a team of talented hackers gathered around computer monitors trying to break into a secure bank or government server. In reality， cyber-attacks are much less exciting but no less dangerous.

A typical attack involves a cybercriminal sending out thousands or even millions of links and files. They assume that someone will eventually fall for their trap and open an infected file or page. Somebody always does. The best way to protect yourself is to learn how to recognize cyber-attacks as well as how to prevent them from happening in the first place.

Cyber-attacks can happen to anybody

It doesnt matter who you are; cybercriminals can target you. While many often think of hacking victims as clueless about digital security best practices， this isnt always the case. Hackers are smart. True， there are plenty of apparent scams like the “Nigerian Prince” emails1. But there are as many attacks that can fool even the savviest computer users.

Nowadays， cybercriminals create fake websites and email addresses. You may think youre clicking a link to Dropbox2 only to download malware onto your computer. And you may never know when you have visited the wrong site and downloaded an infected file. So， its up to you to be vigilant and protect yourself.

How to recognize the signs of cyber-attack

You need to recognize suspicious activity on your accounts or devices. While some things may be obvious such as account password changes， others arent so easy to spot. Usually， hackers insert pieces of code into legitimate files and programs. And then， you might receive a file from a trusted sender whose email has been compromised. Sometimes， the data are even real， but the hacker may have inserted a few lines of code that can also infect your computer.

You should take the time to check your “Task Manager” to get a sense of what programs are running. Check anything suspicious thats running in the background. Thats often the sign of malware.

Other things to watch out for include：

Random device or internet slowdown.

The software you dont recognize.

Browser extensions.

Additional pop-ups.

Inability to access your account.

Unscheduled shutdowns and restarts.

What should I do if my computer is infected？

You need to act right away. The longer hackers can access your device and accounts， the more damage they can do. Start an antivirus scan to see if it can identify and isolate the problem. Do not delete any files as hackers may have wrapped them up with your core system. Only use antivirus software to remove infected files.

For your online accounts， the first step is to change your passwords. Dont think only about the account in question. The hack may have compromised the connected accounts. For example， many people use social logins through Google or Facebook to link a variety of accounts. Or they reuse the same password. Youll need to go through each of these accounts and secure them with a new password. Did hacker lock you out of your accounts？ Then try to restore access using your primary or secondary email， phone number， or by contacting the webmasters.

Finally， warn all your contacts about the hack. It will prevent them from downloading the same files that infected your device. Also， they will be aware that someone may try to impersonate you.

How to prevent cyber-attacks

As with everything， prevention is the best medicine. So， instead of waiting for cyber-attacks to hit you， take the following steps to protect yourself：

Secure your online accounts with strong passwords. You can do this by using a password generator. Password generators will create long and complicated passwords （such as “QyV4nXu^wB1SM*[op&D”）. Even the best hackers would struggle to crack them. Of course， remembering a password like this may be complicated. So， consider using an application or a browser extension to encrypt and store passwords.

Enable antivirus tools and scans to run in the background. They will keep an eye out for viruses and malware. Also， comprehensive antivirus software can remove any threats before they create problems for you.

Be careful with hyperlinks and file downloads. Scan all files before downloading to make sure they are malware-free. Double-check the links to make sure senders are who they claim to be. URLs will give away if the link goes to a fake website instead of a real one.

The bottom line

Thousands of cyberattacks happen each day. Hackers take control of 90K of websites every single day. They all have the potential to steal your data， damage your computer， and cost you hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Therefore， you must learn how to recognize cyber-attacks. Keep an eye out for suspicious activity in your accounts and systems. Secure your online presence by using robust passwords. Infected files and links can come your way from a variety of sources， so use anti-malware tools to detect them ASAP. And， most importantly， always be alert not to get infected in the first place.

聽起來(lái)，網(wǎng)絡(luò)攻擊也許只會(huì)出現(xiàn)在好萊塢電影里。想象一下，一幫神通廣大的黑客圍在電腦顯示器旁，試圖入侵銀行或政府的安全服務(wù)器。事實(shí)上，網(wǎng)絡(luò)攻擊沒(méi)那么令人興奮，卻同樣危險(xiǎn)。

在典型的網(wǎng)絡(luò)攻擊中，網(wǎng)絡(luò)罪犯發(fā)送數(shù)千甚至數(shù)百萬(wàn)個(gè)鏈接和文件。他們認(rèn)為終會(huì)有人落入陷阱，打開感染病毒的文件或頁(yè)面。總有人這么做。保護(hù)自己的最佳方法是學(xué)習(xí)如何識(shí)別網(wǎng)絡(luò)攻擊并防患于未然。

任何人都可能遭遇網(wǎng)絡(luò)攻擊

無(wú)論你是誰(shuí)，網(wǎng)絡(luò)罪犯都能攻擊你。很多人往往以為黑客受害者對(duì)保護(hù)數(shù)字安全的最佳做法一無(wú)所知，但事實(shí)并非總是如此。黑客很聰明。誠(chéng)然，有很多像“尼日利亞王子”郵件這樣明顯的騙局，但也有很多的攻擊能讓最精明的計(jì)算機(jī)用戶上當(dāng)受騙。

如今，網(wǎng)絡(luò)罪犯創(chuàng)建虛假網(wǎng)站、偽造郵箱地址。你以為點(diǎn)擊的是多寶箱的鏈接，結(jié)果卻下載了惡意軟件到電腦上。你可能永遠(yuǎn)都不知道自己什么時(shí)候訪問(wèn)了錯(cuò)誤的網(wǎng)站，還下載了被感染的文件。所以，你必須提高警惕，保護(hù)自己。

如何識(shí)別網(wǎng)絡(luò)攻擊的跡象

你需要識(shí)別賬號(hào)或設(shè)備上的可疑行為。有些情況或許很明顯，比如篡改賬號(hào)密碼，但其他情況就不那么容易被發(fā)現(xiàn)了。通常，黑客會(huì)在合法的文件和程序中插入一些代碼。然后，你可能會(huì)收到來(lái)自可信發(fā)件人的文件，而其電子郵件已被盜取。有時(shí)，數(shù)據(jù)甚至是真實(shí)的，但黑客可能插入了幾行代碼，它們也能感染你的電腦。

你應(yīng)該花點(diǎn)兒時(shí)間檢查“任務(wù)管理器”，搞清楚哪些程序正在運(yùn)行。檢查后臺(tái)任何可疑的運(yùn)行程序，那通常是惡意軟件的跡象。

需要注意的事項(xiàng)還包括：

隨機(jī)設(shè)備或互聯(lián)網(wǎng)減速;

不認(rèn)識(shí)的軟件;

瀏覽器擴(kuò)展;

多余的彈出窗口;

無(wú)法登錄賬號(hào);

莫名的關(guān)機(jī)和重啟。

電腦感染了病毒，該怎么辦？

你需要立即采取行動(dòng)。黑客入侵你的設(shè)備和賬號(hào)的時(shí)間越長(zhǎng)，造成的損害就越大。啟動(dòng)殺毒掃描，看它能否識(shí)別并隔離病毒。不要?jiǎng)h除任何文件，因?yàn)楹诳涂赡芤呀?jīng)將它們和你的核心系統(tǒng)捆綁在了一起。只用殺毒軟件刪除被感染的文件。

關(guān)于你的線上賬號(hào)，第一步是更改密碼。不要只考慮可疑賬號(hào)，黑客可能已經(jīng)入侵了關(guān)聯(lián)賬號(hào)。例如，許多人通過(guò)谷歌或臉書社交賬號(hào)登錄網(wǎng)站，關(guān)聯(lián)多個(gè)賬號(hào)，或重復(fù)使用同一個(gè)密碼。你需要檢查每一個(gè)賬號(hào)，并設(shè)置新密碼以確保其安全可靠。黑客鎖了你的賬號(hào)？那就通過(guò)主要或次要電子郵件、電話號(hào)碼或聯(lián)系網(wǎng)站管理員，嘗試恢復(fù)訪問(wèn)。

最后，將這次攻擊告知你所有的聯(lián)系人。這將阻止他們下載感染你設(shè)備的那些文件。而且，他們會(huì)意識(shí)到有人可能試圖冒充你。

如何防止網(wǎng)絡(luò)攻擊

預(yù)防是最佳方法，萬(wàn)事皆如此。因此，與其坐等網(wǎng)絡(luò)攻擊找上你，不如采取以下措施來(lái)保護(hù)自己：

使用高強(qiáng)度密碼保護(hù)線上賬號(hào)?？梢允褂妹艽a生成器實(shí)現(xiàn)這一點(diǎn)。密碼生成器會(huì)創(chuàng)建長(zhǎng)而復(fù)雜的密碼（如“QyV4nXu^wB1SM *[op&D”），即使是最厲害的黑客也很難破解。當(dāng)然，記住這樣的密碼可能很困難。所以，可以考慮使用應(yīng)用程序或?yàn)g覽器擴(kuò)展來(lái)加密和存儲(chǔ)密碼。

后臺(tái)運(yùn)行殺毒工具和掃描軟件。它們會(huì)密切關(guān)注病毒和惡意軟件。此外，全面殺毒軟件可以清除任何威脅，防止它們給你制造麻煩。

謹(jǐn)慎使用超鏈接和下載文件。下載之前要掃描所有文件，確保它們不帶惡意軟件。再三檢查鏈接，確保發(fā)件人屬實(shí)。如果鏈接指向的是假網(wǎng)站而不是真網(wǎng)站，我們就會(huì)知道網(wǎng)址有問(wèn)題。

重中之重

每天都有成千上萬(wàn)的網(wǎng)絡(luò)攻擊發(fā)生。黑客每天攻占的網(wǎng)站達(dá)9萬(wàn)個(gè)。這些人都有可能竊取你的數(shù)據(jù)，破壞你的電腦，讓你損失數(shù)百甚至數(shù)千美元。因此，你必須學(xué)會(huì)識(shí)別網(wǎng)絡(luò)攻擊。注意賬號(hào)和系統(tǒng)中的可疑行為。使用強(qiáng)效密碼保護(hù)線上信息。有毒文件和鏈接能通過(guò)各種渠道找上你，所以要盡快使用反惡意軟件工具發(fā)現(xiàn)它們。最重要的是，時(shí)刻保持警惕，防患于未然。

（譯者為“《英語(yǔ)世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎(jiǎng)?wù)撸?/p>