Many people have received email alerts tipping them how to prevent being infected by the new coronavirus, but in fact those mails contained malware which infiltrate the network or damage the receiver’s system, VnExpress cited Hanoi police as saying.

Malicious formats. Photo: Hanoi Police

According to information released on February 16, Kaspersky malware researchers predicted that the number of malware spread through online posts, news reports or emails will be increasing as it is a trendy topic.

Cyber criminals use tips on Covid-19 prevention as bait to infiltrate one’s system with malware under names such as Worm. VBS. Dinihou.r; Worm.Python.Agent .; UDS: DangerousObject. Multi. Generic; Trojan.WinLNK.Agent.gg; Trojan.WinLNK.Agent.ew, among others.

The malicious codes allow hackers to harm, modify or copy data or even interfere with the users’ computers and network.

Therefore, Hanoi police recommended that users should avoid clicking suspicious links related to coronavirus, except for information posted by official agencies and reliable sources.

When receiving an attachment, users should pay attention to the extension of the attached file and be careful of documents and video files with ".exe" or ".lnk" extension.

Besides, users should proactively equip their system with security solutions, install anti-virus software to avoid threats from malicious codes.

The Covid-19 outbreak started in Wuhan (China) in December 2019 and has been found in 28 countries and territories outside China.

As of February 16, the number of Covid-19 infections reached 69,276 globally while the death toll has risen to 1,669, including four outside China.

Vietnam has reported 16 cases of nCoV infection, of them seven have recovered and been discharged from hospital.