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Malware: Computing's Dirty Dozen |
by:
Joel Walsh |
It seems that no sooner do you feel safe turning on your computer than you hear onnews aboutnew kind of internet security threat. Usually,security threat is some kind of malware (thoughterm "security threat" no doubt sells more newspapers).
What is malware? Malware is exactly what its name implies: mal (meaning bad, insense of malignant or malicious rather than just poorly done) ware (short for software). More specifically, malware is software that does not benefitcomputer's owner, and may even harm it, and so is purely parasitic.
The Many Faces of Malware
According to Wikipedia, there are in fact eleven distinct types of malware, and even more sub-types of each.
one. Viruses. The malware that's onnews so much, even your grandmother knows what it is. You probably already have heard plenty about why this kind of software is bad for you, so there's no need to belaborpoint.
two. Worms. Slight variation on viruses. The difference between viruses and worms is that viruses hide insidefiles of real computer programs (for instance,macros in Word orVBScript in many other Microsoft applications), while worms do not infectfile or program, but rather stand on their own.
three. Wabbits.Be honest: had you ever even heard of wabbits before (outside of Warner Bros. cartoons)? According to Wikipedia, wabbits are in fact rare, and it's not hard to see why: they do not do anything to spread to other machines. A wabbit, likevirus, replicates itself, but it does not have any instructions to email itself or pass itself throughcomputer network in order to infect other machines. The least ambitious of all malware, it is content simply to focus on utterly devastatingsingle machine.
four. Trojans. Arguablymost dangerous kind of malware, at least fromsocial standpoint. While Trojans rarely destroy computers or even files, that's only because they have bigger targets: your financial information, your computer's system resources, and sometimes even massive denial-of-service attacks launched by having thousands of computers all try to connect toweb server atsame time. Trojans can even
five. Spyware. In another instance of creative software naming, spyware is software that spies on you, often tracking your internet activities in order to serve you advertising. (Yes, it's possible to be both adware and spyware atsame time.)
six. Backdoors. Backdoors are muchsame as Trojans or worms, except that they do something different: they open"backdoor" ontocomputer, providingnetwork connection for hackers or other malware to enter or for viruses or spam to be sent out through.
seven. Exploits. Exploits attack specific security vulnerabilities. You know how Microsoft is always announcing new updates for its operating system? Often enoughupdates are really trying to closesecurity hole targeted innewly discovered exploit.
eight. Rootkit. The malware most likely to havehuman touch, rootkits are installed by crackers (bad hackers) on other people's computers. The rootkit is designed to camouflage itself insystem's core processes so as to go undetected. It ishardest of all malware to detect and therefore to remove; many experts recommend completely wiping your hard drive and reinstalling everything fresh.
nine. Keyloggers. No prize for guessing what this software does: yes, it logs your keystrokes, i.e., what you type. Typically,malware kind of keyloggers (as opposed to keyloggers deliberately installed by their owners to use in diagnosis computer problems) are out to log sensitive information such as passwords and financial details.
onezero. Dialers. Dialers dial telephone numbers via your computer's modem. Like keyloggers, they're only malware if you do not want them. Dialers either dial expensive premium-rate telephone numbers, often located in small countries far fromhost computer; or, they dialhacker's machine to transmit stolen data.
oneone. URL injectors. This software "injects"given URL in place of certain URLs when you try to visit them in your browser. Usually,injected URL isaffiliate link totarget URL. An affiliate link isspecial link used to tracktrafficaffiliate (advertiser) has sent tooriginal website, so thatoriginal website can pay commissions on any sales from that traffic.
onetwo. Adware. The least dangerous and most lucrative malware (lucrative for its distributors, that is). Adware displays ads on your computer. The Wikipedia entry on malware does not give adware its own category even though adware is commonly called malware. As Wikipedia notes, adware is oftensubset of spyware. The implication is that ifuser chooses to allow adware on his or her machine, it's not really malware, which isdefense that most adware companies take. In reality, however,choice to install adware is usuallylegal farce involving placingmention ofadware somewhere ininstallation materials, and often only inlicensing agreement, which hardly anyone reads.
Are you ready to take on this dirty dozen? Don't go it alone. Make sure you have at least one each of antivirus and antispyware.
Aboutauthor:
Aboutauthor: Joel Walsh writes for spyware-refuge.com about malware removal: http://www.spyware-refuge.com/spyware-removal.html?malware remover [Publish this article on your website! Requirement: live link for above URL/web address w/ link text/anchor text: "malware remover" OR leave this bracketed message intact.]
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