Symantec, the company that makes Norton AntiVirus, has discovered a computer virus called Regin that has been around since 2008. Perhaps the scariest part of Regin is its extreme sophistication, which suggests that it was developed over a period of multiple years by an advanced government. The fact that it has taken a Fortune 500 company six years to detect this virus shows how inconspicuous this virus is. In fact, this virus transmits its messages by “wrapping” them in HTTP cookies, and sending custom data packages with the same method that computers communicate with the Internet.

The virus gets into the computer via a “Trojan Horse” method, and once installed, the host computer can be exploited in multiple ways. The virus can recover deleted files, take screenshots, steal passwords, and even take over the mouse on the computer at the whims of the digital attacker. In addition, Symantec found that some computers were initially infected from the virus via Yahoo Messenger.

There is a solution, however.  Never download toolbars from shady websites. Keep wary and alert online, so your computer will not be infected with Regin.

by Sid Menon’17