It's Time to Scan Your PC for Government Funded Malware

By Devin Connors

Amnesty International's free new Detekt tool scans for government-level malware on your PC


It's Cybersecurity Friday here at The Escapist (not really), so when you're not busy freaking out about the possibility that some hacker trolls stole your PlayStation Network login info, you can scan your PC for government-funded malware.

Amnesty International is behind Detekt, a new (and free) malware scanner that specifically looks for bugs attached to government-backed cyberwarfare programs. The scanner comes from AI, along with the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Once you download the Detekt executable, [Note from the Writer: You are downloading and running a program, so the usual "try at your own risk," warning applies here.] the GUI guides you through a typical-looking malware scan, which can take up to 30 minutes (depending on PC speed and drive size). You'll need to run the program as an Administrator in order for it to work. Currently, Windows 8.1 is not supported.

You, me, and virtually everyone else on here likely has nothing to worry about, and the scan will finish empty-handed. For the unlucky few that do find something? This tool is a scanner, and not a removal program, so you're up Hacker Creek without a paddle, I'm afraid. (Translation: it's hard drive reformatting time!)

Government-sponsored cyberattacks are nothing new; China does it, the United States does it, and so do a number of other nations across the globe. At least now you can find out if you're an innocent casualty in this "war" happening in those Internet tubes.

Source: Amnesty International | The Verge