What is malware?
Malicious software, commonly known as malware, is any software that brings harm to a computer system. Malware can steal protected data, delete documents or add software not approved by a user.
Types of malware.
Viruses Trojan Horses Ransomware Spyware Worms Adware
Computer Viruses
A computer virus is a malicious software program loaded onto a user’s computer without the user’s knowledge and performs malicious actions.
Ways viruses spread
Viruses can be spread via:
- Email message attachments that activate when opened.
- Infected files downloaded from websites.
- Shared media, such as USB drives.
What are viruses made to do?
Some computer viruses are programmed to:
- Harm your computer by damaging programs
- Delete or corrupt files
- Reformat the hard drive
Computer Worms
A computer worm is a type of malware that spread copies of itself from computer to computer. A worm can replicate itself without any human interaction, and it does not need to attach itself to a software program in order to cause damage.
What can worms do?
- Modify and delete files
- Inject additional malicious software onto a computer.
- Make copies of itself over and over –depleting system resources, such as hard drive space or bandwidth.
- Steal data
- Install a backdoor, and allow a hacker to gain control over a computer and its system settings.
What is a trojan horse or trojan?
A trojan horse of trojan is a type of malware that is often disguised as legitimate software. Trojans can be employed by cyber thieves and hackers trying to gain access to users’ systems. Users are typically tricked by some form of social engineering into loading and executing Trojans on their systems.
What can Trojan Horses do?
Once activated, Trojans can :
- Enable cyber-criminals to spy on you
- Steal your sensitive data
- Gain backdoor access to your system.
