Malware Explained – The Most Common Threats
Malware is actually the umbrella term for malicious software, and includes many forms of threats such as viruses, trojans, and spyware.
These are the most common types of malware:
Viruses:
Media attention has made the computer virus a more recognizable term than malware. Viruses are infectious computer programs which are self-replicating and often deliver negative payloads to your machine.
Trojans:
Greek mythology has not been forgotten in the world of malware, as trojans often unleash a series of different types of malicious software onto your computer. Trojans mask themselves as legitimate software, and there are two primary types. Trojan horses carry other malware with the seemingly valid software installer package, and trojan downloaders connect to remote servers to download malicious software and follow remote commands.
Spyware:
As the name implies, spyware is software which spies on your computer usage habits and internet browsing activities in order to determine the best ads to display to you. Sometimes this malware forces your internet browser to ad driven sites or redirects other advertisements.
Adware:
This malware is typically financially motivated, as the designers make money every time an infected user clicks on an ad. As a result, adware causes ads to pop-up on users screen, and forces internet browsers to launch ad sites.
Worms:
Like viruses, worms are self-replicating, but they do not hide in existing program folders or infect existing files. Worms standalone and create new malicious files on the users machine, and spread very rapidly via e-mail, and local networks.
Other forms of malware include Key loggers, Bots, Backdoors, Root kits, Dialers, Exploits, and injectors.
