The term malwareMalicious software - a term that includes viruses, trojans, worms or any code or content that could have an adverse impact on organisations or individuals.... is a contraction of malicious software. Put simply, malware is any piece of software that was written with the intent of doing harm to data, devices or to people.
When you hear talk of virusesPrograms which can self-replicate and are designed to infect legitimate software programs or systems. A form of malware...., TrojansA type of malware or virus disguised as legitimate software, that is used to hack into the victim's computer...., spywareSoftware that enables a user to obtain covert information about another's computer activities by transmitting data covertly from their hard drive.... and the like, what you’re really hearing is talk of different kinds of malware.
We all know the popular image of the rebel hackerIn mainstream use as being someone with some computer skills who uses them to break into computers, systems and networks...., testing their skills and wits against whatever system they’ve decided to make his challenge. But today, “black hat” software developers often sell their skills to the highest bidder.
These can be criminal organisations looking for tools to operate in the digital world, or government intelligence agencies looking to access the data locked away in the computers, networks and mobile devices of their targets.
What does malware do?
The way malware goes about doing its damage can be helpful in categorising what kind of malware you’re dealing with. The following is a list of common types of malware, but it’s not really exhaustive:
- VirusPrograms which can self-replicate and are designed to infect legitimate software programs or systems. A form of malware....: Like their biological namesakes, viruses attach themselves to clean files and infect other clean files. They can spread uncontrollably, damaging a system’s core functionality and deleting or corrupting files. They usually appear as an executable file.
- Trojans: This kind of malware disguises itself as legitimate software, or is included in legitimate software that has been tampered with. It tends to act discretely and create backdoors in your security to let other malware in.
- Spyware: No surprise here: spyware is malware designed to spy on you. It hides in the background and takes notes on what you do online, including your passwords, credit card numbers, surfing habits and more.
- WormsA self-replicating program able to propagate itself across a network, typically having a detrimental effect....: Worms infect entire networks of devices, either local or across the internet, by using networkTwo or more computers linked in order to share resources. interfaces. It uses each consecutive infected machine to infect more.
- RansomwareMalicious software that makes data or systems unusable until the victim makes a payment....: Also called scareware, this kind of malware can lock down your computer and threaten to erase everything — unless a ransom is paid to its owner.
- AdwareSoftware that automatically displays or downloads advertising material such as banners or pop-ups when a user is online....: Though not always malicious in nature, particularly aggressive advertising software can undermine your security just to serve you ads — which can give a lot of other malware a way in. Plus, let’s face it: pop-ups are really annoying.
- Botnets: BotnetsA network of infected devices, connected to the Internet, used to commit coordinated cyber attacks without their owner's knowledge.... are networks of infected computers that are made to work together under the control of an attackerMalicious actor who seeks to exploit computer systems with the intent to change, destroy, steal or disable their information, and then exploit the outcome.....
Just how big is the problem?
AV-Test is an independent research institute for IT Security from Germany. They have one of the large collections of digital malware samples in the world which is consistently growing. The graph below shows the current volume of malware identified.
As you can see, the volume is not insignificant and the risk of being impacted is high if you do not have good computer protection.
How do you remove malware?
Each form of malware has its own way of infecting and damaging computers and data, and so each one requires a different malware removal method. Avoiding suspicious emails, links or websites are good online habits to have, but will only get you so far: attackers can sometimes compromise even legitimate websites.
The only way to really stay protected or remove an infection is by using anti-malware software or antivirusSoftware that is designed to detect, stop and remove viruses and other kinds of malicious software.... software that provides the capability to remove or block malware such as our product CyberGuard. CyberGuard provides everything your business needs to protect itself in one package (antivirus, anti-malware, anti-ransomware, anti-spam just for starters) and has 100% malware detection. It makes use of over 400 million users to gather insight and stay ahead of the game.
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