Malware Education
The internet is a great environment full of extreme learning potential and the promise of fast communication.
Unfortunately, this great potential is taken advantage of by the few who wish to exploit your information for unethical purposes.
Malware - "malicious software" - is software designed to infiltrate or damage a computer system, without the owner's consent. The term describes the intent of the creator, rather than any particular features. Malware includes computer viruses, worms, Trojan horses, spyware, adware, and rootkits.
What is a Virus/Worm?
Originally, the term computer virus was used for a program which infected other executable software, while a worm transmitted itself over a network to infect computers; though the words are often used interchangeably.
Today, some draw the distinction between viruses and worms by saying that a virus requires user intervention to spread, whereas a worm spreads automatically.
In common parlance, the term virus is often extended to refer to spyware, trojan horses and other sorts of malware; however, this can confuse computer users. This confusion can have serious consequences, because it may lead to a focus on preventing one genre of malware over another, potentially leaving computers vulnerable to future damage.
What is Spyware/Adware?
Spyware and adware refers to programs designed to monitor a users Web browsing habits, display unsolicited advertisements, and redirect affiliate marketing revenues to the spyware creator. Spyware programs don't spread like viruses; usually they are installed by exploiting browser security holes, or are installed through a Trojan Horse when the user installs other software. Be careful when downloading Anti-Spyware scanners as many of these contain spyware themselves. Click here for a link of known suspect Anti-Spyware scanners.
What is a Trojan Horse?
A Trojan Horse or a trojan is a vessle in which to gain access to your computer without a computer user knowing - ala the Troan Horse of Troy as told in Virgil's Latin epic poem The Aeneid. It is the delivery truck for a virus/worm or for prologned access to a users computer.
Broadly speaking, a Trojan horse is any program that invites the user to run it, but conceals a harmful or malicious payload. This payload can be anything: it may take effect immediately, such as by deleting all the user's files, or more commonly it may install some harmful software into the user's system to serve the creator's longer-term goals.
A common way that spyware is distributed is through a Trojan Horse, bundled with a piece of desirable software that the user downloads off the Web or a peer-to-peer file-trading network. When the user installs the software, the spyware is installed alongside. Spyware authors who attempt to act legally may include an end-user license agreement which states the behavior of the spyware in loose terms, but with the knowledge that users are unlikely to read or understand it.
What is a rootkit?
Once a malicious program is installed on a system, it is often useful to the creator if it stays concealed. Techniques known as rootkits allow this concealment, by modifying the host operating system so that the malware is hidden from the user. Rootkits can prevent a malicious process from being reported in the process table, or keep its files from being read.
In Review
A virus is a destructive program capable of replicating itself through user intervention into other programs.
A worm is like a virus but can self-replicate without user intervention and propagates across a network.
Spyware/Adware are programs that monitor your habits, present popups, and redirect your browser's url for another's profit.
A Trojan Horse is typically the delivery vehicle for these programs. A trojan horse is a legitmate looking program used to lull the user into running it on their computer.
A rootkit hides the programs and any delivery vehicles from the operating system - rendering your anti-virus protection useless.
What to do about this?
Contact us today for extermination of all malware, from viruses to rootkits. We disinfect your computer, secure it in a way that it shouldn't happen again, and teach you about what we did.
