A zero day attack exploits software vulnerabilities before a patch is available. Malicious programmers search for unknown bugs to create viruses or worms. Software vendors may withhold patches, leaving users vulnerable. Regularly updating software and using antivirus and firewall protection can help prevent attacks.
A zero day attack, also known as a zero hour attack, exploits vulnerabilities in your computer that currently have no fix. Typically, a software company will discover a bug or problem with a piece of software after it has been released and offer a patch, other piece of software intended to fix the original problem. A zero day attack will take advantage of this problem before a patch has been created. It is called zero day because it occurs before the first day the vulnerability is known.
In most cases, this type of attack will take advantage of a bug that neither the software creators nor users are aware of. In fact, this is exactly what malicious programmers are hoping to find. By finding software vulnerabilities before the software manufacturers find them, a programmer can create a virus or worm that exploits that vulnerability and damages computer systems in various ways.
Not all zero day attacks truly occur before software vendors are aware of the vulnerability. Sometimes, vendors become aware of the vulnerability, but developing a patch can take time. Alternatively, software vendors may sometimes withhold patch release because they don’t want to inundate customers with numerous individual updates, and if the vulnerability is not particularly dangerous, multiple updates can be collected and released together as a package. However, this approach can potentially expose users to an attack.
A zero-day attack can be harmful to specific computers long after a patch has been created and the vulnerability closed. This is because many computer owners do not regularly update their software with patches made available by software manufacturers. Software companies advise users to check their sites regularly for software patches or bug fixes.
Many computer experts recommend two techniques for protecting a computer system from a zero day attack. The first is to enable heuristic virus scanning, an antivirus software option to block currently unknown viruses and worms, since the typical attack is unknown until a large number of computers are infected. The second is to use a firewall to protect a computer from online exploits.
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