MALWARE
BY MATTHEW TAYLOR
MALWARE
Malware, short for malicious software, is software used or programmed by attackers to disrupt computer operation, gather sensitive information, or gain access to private computer systems.
VIRUS
Computer viruses are small software programs that are designed to spread from one computer to another and to interfere with computer operation. A virus might corrupt or delete data on your computer, use your email program to spread itself to other computers, or even erase everything on your hard disk. Computer viruses are often spread by attachments in email messages or instant messaging messages. That is why it is essential that you never open email attachments unless you know who it's from and you are expecting it. Viruses can be disguised as attachments of funny images, greeting cards, or audio and video files.
TROJAN HORSE
The mythological Trojan horse appeared to be a gift, but in reality it contained several Greek soldiers that conquered the city of Troy. The modern Trojan horses however, are computer programs that appear to be useful programs, but instead they reduce your computers safety and cause a lot of damage. They also make it possible for criminals to control your computer via the Internet, change files and functions, monitor and register your activities, expose you to fraud and use your computer to attack other computers.
WORM
In the same way as viruses, worms are made to copy themselves from one computer to another. But worms do this automatically. This means that when they have entered a system, they can self-replicate in large numbers and copy themselves to different locations. They might send copies of themselves to everybody in your contact list, and then do the same thing on their computers. In networks with a lot of traffic this may cause a massive spread of a dangerous worm within a very short time span.
FIREWALL
A "firewall" is an over-arching term to describe a specialized defense system for a computer network. The term comes from construction, where specialized fire-prevention systems involve fire-resistant walls being placed strategically in buildings and cars to slow the spread of a fire. In the case of computers, the term describes hardware or software that slows the invasion of a computer system by blocking viruses and hackers.
KEY LOGGING
A key logger is a program that records the key strokes on a computer. It does this by monitoring a user's input and keeping a log of all keys that are pressed. The log may saved to a file or even sent to another machine over a network or the Internet.
Key logger programs are often deemed spyware because they usually run without the user knowing it. They can be maliciously installed by hackers to spy on what a user is typing. By examining the key log data, it may be possible to find private information such as a username and password combination. Therefore, key loggers can be a significant security risk if they are unknowingly installed on a computer.