Can I get infected (With a virus of course) just from clicking a link?

[Mjölgineer]

I have gotten 2 phishers attempt to infect my computer (on the Steam website), but I want to be sure before reporting one. I know A LOT about virus safety. Steam mods/admins say that you should never click a phony link, (EDIT: This following sentence may not be accurate) but I know how to avoid being infected (because downloading a file does not infect your computer, running it does).
I'm not only asking for a yes or no answer, I'm also asking how.

[Conortroversial]

Yes you can.

[Mjölgineer]

Originally posted by Conortroversial:

Yes you can.

How?

[Conortroversial]

Originally posted by Harry (No sound):

Originally posted by Conortroversial:

Yes you can.

How?

JavaScript Trojans, Trojan downloaders, backdoor trojan, .scr autodownloaders, keyloggers.

Take your pick, these can all auto-download without you having to click or download anything.

[Mjölgineer]

Originally posted by Conortroversial:

Originally posted by Harry (No sound):

How?

JavaScript Trojans, Trojan downloaders, backdoor trojan, .scr autodownloaders, keyloggers.

Take your pick, these can all auto-download without you having to click or download anything.

I know they can download automatically, but how would they run without permission?

[Mjölgineer]

Originally posted by riggz666:

just ignore them and move on.

It is best to report someone before they infect someone who doesn't know as much about computers.

[Conortroversial]

Originally posted by Harry (No sound):

Originally posted by Conortroversial:

JavaScript Trojans, Trojan downloaders, backdoor trojan, .scr autodownloaders, keyloggers.

Take your pick, these can all auto-download without you having to click or download anything.

I know they can download automatically, but how would they run without permission?

When you are on a computer where you are not the administrator, it asks you for the admins password, if you are the admin, it bypasses that. That is just one of the ways. It can run just by creating a process on startup when you load the page in whatever browser.

[Mjölgineer]

Originally posted by Conortroversial:

Originally posted by Harry (No sound):

I know they can download automatically, but how would they run without permission?

When you are on a computer where you are not the administrator, it asks you for the admins password, if you are the admin, it bypasses that. That is just one of the ways. It can run just by creating a process on startup when you load the page in whatever browser.

O.o
I can't believe I didn't know this yet.
Are there any ways I can avoid this besides not clicking on fishy links?

[Conortroversial]

Originally posted by Harry (No sound):

Originally posted by Conortroversial:

When you are on a computer where you are not the administrator, it asks you for the admins password, if you are the admin, it bypasses that. That is just one of the ways. It can run just by creating a process on startup when you load the page in whatever browser.

O.o
I can't believe I didn't know this yet.
Are there any ways I can avoid this besides not clicking on fishy links?

Have good common sense, that's the biggest. Anti-virus and Anti-malware are essential. Having browser extensions such as NoScript which doesn't allow scripts to run without your permission (limiting the chance of a java exploit happening), AdBlock Plus will stop all ads, including any malicious ones which try to run malicious scripts as well. Keeping your flash player, Java and browser up to date is also a necessity so that there are no possible old program vulnerabilities on your system.

[Mjölgineer]

Originally posted by Conortroversial:

Originally posted by Harry (No sound):

O.o
I can't believe I didn't know this yet.
Are there any ways I can avoid this besides not clicking on fishy links?

Have good common sense, that's the biggest. Anti-virus and Anti-malware are essential. Having browser extensions such as NoScript which doesn't allow scripts to run without your permission (limiting the chance of a java exploit happening), AdBlock Plus will stop all ads, including any malicious ones which try to run malicious scripts as well. Keeping your flash player, Java and browser up to date is also a necessity so that there are no possible old program vulnerabilities on your system.

Thanks.
I have avast! antivirus but I'm not satisfied with it (Last time I got a virus I had to remove it by hand). Avast has also given me a stupid search engine before (Remove Google search protect? This has bad reputation), like yahoo or bing or something. Are there any antiviruses that you would recommend?

[Crypto Carlos]

Originally posted by Conortroversial:

Originally posted by Harry (No sound):

I know they can download automatically, but how would they run without permission?

When you are on a computer where you are not the administrator, it asks you for the admins password, if you are the admin, it bypasses that. That is just one of the ways. It can run just by creating a process on startup when you load the page in whatever browser.

While this is technically correct, many programs will still ask you to confirm that you want to run a program as administrator (even in an admin account) when you have User Account Control enabled (which is the default in Windows), unless you enable "run as admin" under the shortcut properties. Not that this matters to most trojans/malware etc. as they will bypass basic windows security measures anyway.

If you really want to be secure TC, follow these guidelines

1.) Don't friend people you don't know and trust.

2.) Don't click on links sent by random people.

3.) Don't open suspicious looking e-mails/links

4.) Don't use shady third-party item trading sites/shady sites in general. Also, don't use illegal torrents.

5.) Install and update a decent AV suite to cover those random instances where a search result/link seems genuine but is really a phishing scam (it happens on occasion).

A bit of common sense and some security and you will avoid 99.9% of Viruses/Malware. I've been using computers for a few decades now and I can count on one hand the number of times I've personally had a virus/malware infection of any kind.

[Mjölgineer]

Originally posted by yellowblanka:

While this is technically correct, many programs will still ask you to confirm that you want to run a program as administrator (even in an admin account) when you have User Account Control enabled (which is the default in Windows), unless you enable "run as admin" under the shortcut properties. Not that this matters to most trojans/malware etc. as they will bypass basic windows security measures anyway.

If you really want to be secure TC, follow these guidelines

1.) Don't friend people you don't know and trust.

2.) Don't click on links sent by random people.

3.) Don't open suspicious looking e-mails/links

4.) Don't use shady third-party item trading sites/shady sites in general. Also, don't use illegal torrents.

5.) Install and update a decent AV suite to cover those random instances where a search result/link seems genuine but is really a phishing scam (it happens on occasion).

A bit of common sense and some security and you will avoid 99.9% of Viruses/Malware. I've been using computers for a few decades now and I can count on one hand the number of times I've personally had a virus/malware infection of any kind.

Same here (besides the "decades" part). The only thing I didn't know was 2.

[Conortroversial]

Originally posted by Harry (No sound):

Thanks.
I have avast! antivirus but I'm not satisfied with it (Last time I got a virus I had to remove it by hand). Are there any antiviruses that you would recommend?

I use Avast personally and would recommend it, not every Anti virus will catch everything but it is quite high in its detection rate. I would recommend using Malwarebytes alongside your Anti virus to help combat all infections. NoScript and AdBlock Plus on your browser also (Firefox is quite more security wise and secure than IE and the likes).

If you would want a switch from Avast, then the last tests from AV-Test.org rate Avira for the best protection, good performance and easy to use. Kaspersky would be my next recommendation followed by F-Secure and BitDefender.

[Azza ☠]

Exploited SCR (screensaver) files, for example, renamed as a fake screenshot might auto-execute on some systems / web-browsers / office / email, as Windows attempts to display it as something it's not (in that case a picture). Latest versions/updates of Windows/Flash/Java/Office/etc, however should protect from these exploits.

[Conortroversial]

Originally posted by yellowblanka:

While this is technically correct, many programs will still ask you to confirm that you want to run a program as administrator (even in an admin account) when you have User Account Control enabled (which is the default in Windows), unless you enable "run as admin" under the shortcut properties. Not that this matters to most trojans/malware etc. as they will bypass basic windows security measures anyway.

Yeah that's what I was trying to get at, I didn't want to go straight in with the whole bypassing of security measures as it would lead to more questions and get peoples backs up about even turning on their PC. Some people turn off UAC as they see it as an interference and an annoyance so that way is always a possibility if the user doesn't look after their system.

[Mjölgineer]

Originally posted by Conortroversial:

Originally posted by Harry (No sound):

Thanks.
I have avast! antivirus but I'm not satisfied with it (Last time I got a virus I had to remove it by hand). Are there any antiviruses that you would recommend?

I use Avast personally and would recommend it, not every Anti virus will catch everything but it is quite high in its detection rate. I would recommend using Malwarebytes alongside your Anti virus to help combat all infections. NoScript and AdBlock Plus on your browser also (Firefox is quite more security wise and secure than IE and the likes).

If you would want a switch from Avast, then the last tests from AV-Test.org rate Avira for the best protection, good performance and easy to use. Kaspersky would be my next recommendation followed by F-Secure and BitDefender.

Thanks!
I've heard of that antivirus combo before. Now that I have heard the recommendation for a second time, I'll install it. However, I don't want to annoy other people (I am not the only one who uses this computer), is there anything annoying about Malwarebytes?