Yes, you can get a virus by visiting a website, however, it’s extremely rare. Getting a virus from visiting a website is possible through exploit kits and drive-by downloads. There are several cybersecurity precautions you can take to mitigate the damage a virus can cause in the event that you visit a compromised website.
Continue reading to learn how you can get a virus from visiting a website, what to do if you get a virus from visiting a website and how to protect your device from viruses in the future.
How You Can Get a Virus From Visiting a Website
Getting a virus from visiting a website is possible due to exploit kits and drive-by downloads.
Exploit kits
An exploit kit is a toolkit used by cybercriminals to take advantage of vulnerabilities in systems or devices. When a cybercriminal compromises a website and deploys an exploit kit, anyone visiting that website will be redirected to a new page containing malicious code. This code then scans the user’s device for vulnerabilities that it can exploit. Devices with outdated software are more susceptible to these vulnerabilities because software updates are designed to patch known security vulnerabilities and fix bugs. Failure to update software as soon as an update is available leaves these vulnerabilities unaddressed, allowing exploit kits to inject viruses or malware onto the user’s device, causing it to become infected.
Drive-by downloads
A drive-by download is a cyber attack that refers to how viruses and malware get installed on user’s devices – without the user knowing it’s being downloaded. Drive-by downloads don’t require the user to click on anything on a webpage. If the user goes to a webpage that has malicious code injected into it, it can immediately infect the user’s device with malware as soon as they visit the site.
Exploit kits and drive-by downloads make it possible for devices to become infected with viruses simply by visiting a website. It’s important to understand that you can get a virus from visiting any website, it doesn’t matter if the website is legitimate or not. If the website or a single webpage has been compromised, it’s possible to get a virus from it.
Signs Your Device Has a Virus Infection
Here are some of the most common signs that indicate your device is infected with a virus or other malicious software.
- Slow response
- Overheating
- Unusual or inappropriate pop-ups that appear randomly
- Strange applications or software you didn’t download
- Battery draining faster than normal
- Missing or altered files
- Unknown programs running in the background
- A sudden lack of storage space
- Spam emails being sent from your email address
- Frequent computer crashes
- Increased activity on your WiFi network
- Constant redirects to unusual websites
If you notice one or more than one of these signs, it’s crucial that you take immediate steps to protect your devices and data.
What To Do if You Get a Virus From Visiting a Website
If you get a virus from visiting a website, you should take the following steps.
1. Immediately disconnect your device from the internet
When you notice the signs of a virus on your device such as random pop-ups appearing, you need to disconnect your device from the internet immediately. Some types of viruses are designed to infect a user’s WiFi network so they can infect all other devices connected to that same network. The sooner you disconnect your device from the internet, the less damage it’ll cause.
2. Run antivirus software
Antivirus software is a program you can install on your computer that is used to detect, isolate and remove viruses from it. If you don’t currently have antivirus installed on your device, or have it turned off, we recommend downloading a reputable version and keeping it turned on at all times. This way the antivirus software is always running and is able to detect and remove viruses as soon as they attempt to infect your device.
If you don’t already have antivirus installed, some viruses may make downloading it impossible, so you’ll need to consult a professional to help you remove the existing virus.
3. Secure your online accounts
Once you’ve disconnected your device from the internet and run your antivirus software, you’ll need to take steps to secure your online accounts. As a precaution, we recommend changing all of your passwords, because you never know what the virus was able to see and gather from your device. On average, a person has 100 passwords so you’re probably dreading having to change all of your passwords on your own, but a password manager can help.
A password manager is a tool that aids users in generating, managing and securely storing all of their passwords in a secure digital vault. With a password manager, users only have to remember one password, also known as the master password. Using these tools when you need to update multiple passwords makes it easy and saves you time, because you won’t have to come up with strong passwords on your own.
4. Keep an eye out for suspicious activity
Once you’ve taken the above steps, you’ll still need to keep an eye out for suspicious activity on your online accounts and other devices that were connected to the same network as the device that was infected. Keep a look out for suspicious login attempts, unusual transactions you didn’t make, password reset emails and so on. The sooner you notice suspicious activity, the sooner you can take action to mitigate the damage that a cybercriminal can cause.
5. Seek professional help if your device does not go back to normal
It’s possible that running antivirus software won’t get rid of the virus completely or at all. This is because viruses are constantly being created and antivirus can only detect viruses that it knows exist. If this is the case, it’s crucial that you take your device to an IT professional so they can help you get rid of the virus completely and bring your device back to normal.
How To Protect Your Device From Viruses in the Future
Due to drive-by downloads and exploit kits, you can essentially get viruses from visiting any website that has been injected with malicious code. But that doesn’t mean all of your data will be compromised or you’ll lose important files and images. To mitigate the damage that viruses can cause, you need to increase your cyber hygiene by following cybersecurity best practices such as:
- Keeping your software, apps and devices up to date
- Regularly backing up your data
- Securing your accounts with strong passwords
- Enabling Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) wherever possible
- Installing antivirus software
The better your cyber hygiene is, the less damage a virus can cause if your device were to become infected. It’s important to note that you should never use browser password managers to save your passwords because this places your accounts at risk of becoming compromised if your device is infected with a virus. Instead, use a standalone password manager to store your passwords because they are much more secure. One standalone password manager that you can start using today is Keeper Password Manager.
