The State Special Communications Service provides answers to the most common questions of Ukrainians regarding the fight against threats in cyberspace, the safe use of phones, the Internet and others. How do I know if a computer or smartphone has been attacked by hackers or malware?

Any device can be infected by malware. However, it may not always be obvious to the user. What should be worrying? Any unusual behavior of the gadget.

The following “symptoms” should not be ignored:

1. The battery drains very quickly at low intensity of use (you can check which programs are using the most battery power in the device settings).
2. Significant slowdown of the gadget.
3. Frequent computer or smartphone crashes. For example, frequent reboots, sudden shutdowns.
4. Sudden decrease in free memory.
5. The emergence of pop-ups, advertising.
6. View of programs or applications that you have not personally installed.
7. Unauthorized modification of gadget settings.
8. Forwarding large volumes of traffic even to infrequently used programs.
9. Unauthorized activation of Wi-Fi, geolocation, even if you disable the options manually.
10. Receive incomprehensible system messages.
11. Unauthorized operation of the cursor or keyboard.

To minimize the risk of infecting your gadget:

• Use reliable anti-virus programs, regularly check your device for threats. A list of known antiviruses that are trusted by experts can be found here https://t.me/dsszzi_official/3712
• Install device updates in a timely manner (updates for operating systems, programs, etc.). This increases the level of security and eliminates the detected shortcomings of the system. Advice on updates is regularly published by the Ukraine CERT-UA State Computer Emergency Response Team operating under the auspices of the State Special Service https://www.facebook.com/UACERT
• Download applications to your smartphone only from the official Play Market applications for Android and the App Store for iOS, periodically check their list and allow data access. Uninstall suspicious apps and programs, as well as apps you don’t personally install.
• Do not use “corrupt” versions of paid programs, especially from Russian torrents. They contain security vulnerabilities. If you can’t afford it, install a free alternative.
• Give up Russian programs and services.
• Do not download files from unknown sources or from unknown or unknown senders. Malicious code can even contain files that appear safe, such as .docx, xlsx, and more.
• If you need to download such a file – before opening it, check it with an antivirus with a previously updated version of the virus database.

Read other tips in the questions section or on social networks under the hashtag # ДССЗЗІ_recommends