Virus worms trojans definitions

Advanced botnets may take advantage of common internet of things IOT devices such as home electronics or appliances to increase automated attacks. Crypto mining is a common use of these bots for nefarious purposes. Advanced malware typically comes via the following distribution channels to a computer or network:. A set of stealthy and continuous computer hacking processes, often orchestrated by a person or persons targeting a specific entity. An APT usually targets either private organizations, states, or both for business or political motives.

APT processes require a high degree of covertness over a long period of time. The "advanced" process signifies sophisticated techniques using malware to exploit vulnerabilities in systems. The "persistent" process suggests that an external command and control system is continuously monitoring and extracting data from a specific target.

The "threat" process indicates human involvement in orchestrating the attack. Software that generates revenue for its developer by automatically generating online advertisements in the user interface of the software or on a screen presented to the user during the installation process. The software may generate two types of revenue: one is for the display of the advertisement and another on a "pay-per-click" basis if the user clicks on the advertisement.

An undocumented way of accessing a system, bypassing the normal authentication mechanisms. Some backdoors are placed in the software by the original programmer and others are placed on systems through a system compromise, such as a virus or worm.

Usually, attackers use backdoors for easier and continued access to a system after it has been compromised. Adversaries may use bootkits to persist on systems at a layer below the operating system, which may make it difficult to perform full remediation unless an organization suspects one was used and can act accordingly. Software that modifies a web browser's settings without a user's permission to inject unwanted advertising into the user's browser.

A browser hijacker may replace the existing home page, error page, or search engine with its own. These are generally used to force hits to a particular website, increasing its advertising revenue.

This software often comes in the form of a browser toolbar and is received through an email attachment or file download. A class of malware designed specifically to automate cybercrime. Crimeware distinct from spyware and adware is designed to perpetrate identity theft through social engineering or technical stealth in order to access a computer user's financial and retail accounts for the purpose of taking funds from those accounts or completing unauthorized transactions that enrich the cyberthief.

Alternatively, crimeware may steal confidential or sensitive corporate information. Malicious attempts by one or more people to cause the victim, site, or node to deny service to its customers. A computer file that contains a sequence of instructions to run an automatic task when the user clicks the file icon or when it is launched via a command. Applications for personal or business communication that are built around the concept of online presence detection to determine when an entity can communicate.

These applications allow for collaboration via text chat, audio, video or file transfer. The action of recording logging the keys struck on a keyboard, typically covertly, so that the person using the keyboard is unaware that their actions are being monitored. Data can then be retrieved by the person operating the logging program.

A keylogger can be either software or hardware. Software that uses system resources to solve large mathematical calculations that result in some amount of cryptocurrency being awarded to the solvers. There are two ways that mining can be performed: either with a standalone miner or by leveraging mining pools. Most macros are a simple series of steps.

In Excel, I often record a new macro to perform calculations that need to be repeated. MS Word's spell checker is a macro. Viruses can use this executable portion of a word processor to spread. Therefore, MS Word doc files like these can be a carrier—not just executables—and are easily spread.

There are two stages to a virus. The infection stage defines how it will reproduce and move around by attaching to particular files. The operation stage defines how it will deliver the payload. The payload could be anything from writing a message to your screen or some kind of attack by infecting more files or erasing portions of hard disks.

Once executed, viruses replicate themselves many times over. Sometimes the operation or attack may not occur for days or weeks from the time of infection. If you scan your computer for viruses it may not find one that is waiting for a specific date or event to occur before it attacks. Unlike worms, viruses do not crawl around on their own; they must be attached and executed.

The first researcher that finds it usually controls virus naming. Anti-virus companies will share their findings, but there is no naming convention to go by. Anti-virus companies are more interested in finding ways to stop the virus than focusing on a naming convention. Until recently, virus categorizing was just as informal. In , a paper appeared in IEEE that attempts to create a means for clearly identifying the virus type. The categories include: duration of attack temporary or permanent , platform dependency i.

Polymorphic simply means that the virus or worm mutates itself to another variant making it more difficult to track. Monomorphic means that the virus replicates itself as the same code over and over. The IEEE taxonomy has yet to catch on, but it is one example of an attempt to clearly identify the characteristics of malware.

Malware is a newer term that includes all the different types of software applications, which have the intent of being destructive or annoying. Worms are also self-replicating programs but do not need another program to reproduce.

Worms replicate via a network while viruses replicate within a computer. Some definitions say worms are viruses that can travel on their own.

For example the Nimda worm uses e-mail to move around the network. Once infected, the worm will use its built-in simple mail transfer protocol SMTP engine to send itself to e-mail addresses it finds in your archived e-mail and cached browser pages. Nimda fools Microsoft's Internet Explorer into thinking that it's an audio file. It's really an executable file that Explorer runs without asking the user and without the user's knowledge. The message might say that it's an important message from you!

The term refers to software that is deployed with malicious intent. Malware can be deployed even remotely, and tracking the source of malware is hard. It can take the form of executable code, scripts, active content, and other software. This combination has enabled commercial malware providers to supply sophisticated black markets for both malware and the information that it collects. Evolution of Malware Computer-enabled fraud and service theft evolved in parallel with the information technology that enabled it.

The term malware was first used by computer scientist and security research YisraelRadai in Before the term malware, malicious software was referred to as computer viruses. One of the first known examples of malware was the Creeper virus in , which was created as an experiment by BBN Technologies engineer Robert Thomas.

What is the purpose of creating a Malware? Initially, it started as a prank among software developers. This malware has been around since More recently, it can deliver ransomware or a cryptojacker allowing criminals to use your device to mine for cryptocurrency to infected computers. This banking Trojan is another oldie but baddie. It uses keystroke logging — recording your keystrokes as you log into your bank account, for instance — to steal your credentials and perhaps your account balance as well.

First, the dos: Computer security begins with installing and running an internet security suite. Run periodic diagnostic scans with your software. You can set it up so the program runs scans automatically during regular intervals. Cybercriminals tend to exploit security holes in outdated software programs.

In addition to operating system updates, you should also check for updates on other software that you use on your computer. Protect your accounts with complex, unique passwords. Create a unique password for each account using a complex combination of letters, numbers, and symbols. Keep your personal information safe with firewalls.

Back up your files regularly. If a Trojan infects your computer, this will help you to restore your data. Be careful with email attachments. To help stay safe, scan an email attachment first. Trojan war winners and losers A final note on Trojans for history and mythology buffs.

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