1. Three Things About Malware
Keep Your Computer Safe and Secure
© 2016 by James Dudek

2. Keep Your Computer Safe and Secure
The Problem of Malware
Nine Types of Malware
2. Symptoms of Malware Infection
3. Prevention of Malware Infection

3. 1. The Problem of Malware - What is Malware
Malware is short for malicious software, meaning software that can be used to compromise computer functions, steal data, bypass access controls, or otherwise cause harm to the host computer. Malware is a broad term that refers to a variety of malicious programs. This post will define several of the most common types of malware; adware, bots, bugs, rootkits, spyware, Trojan horses, viruses, and worms.
cybersecurity-101

4. 1. The Problem of Malware - Nine Types of Malware
Adware
Bots
Bugs
Ransonware
Root Kits
Spyware
Trojans
Viruses
Worms

5. 1. The Problem of Malware - Adware
Adware, or advertising-supported software, is any software package that automatically renders advertisements in order to generate revenue for its author. The advertisements may be in the user interface of the software or on a screen presented to the user during the installation process. The functions may be designed to analyze which Internet sites the user visits and to present advertising pertinent to the types of goods or services featured there. The term is sometimes used to refer to software that displays unwanted advertisements known as malware.

6. 1. The Problem of Malware - Bots
An Internet bot, also known as web robot, WWW robot or simply bot, is a software application that runs automated tasks (scripts) over the Internet.[1] Typically, bots perform tasks that are both simple and structurally repetitive, at a much higher rate than would be possible for a human alone. The largest use of bots is in web spidering (web crawler), in which an automated script fetches, analyzes and files information from web servers at many times the speed of a human.
Websites can guard against bots with CAPTCHA tests that verify users as human.

7. 1. The Problem of Malware - Bugs
A software bug is an error, flaw, failure or fault in a computer program or system that causes it to produce an incorrect or unexpected result, or to behave in unintended ways. Most bugs arise from mistakes and errors made by people in either a program's source code or its design, or in frameworks and operating systems used by such programs, and a few are caused by compilers producing incorrect code. A program that contains a large number of bugs, and/or bugs that seriously interfere with its functionality, is said to be buggy or defective.

8. 1. The Problem of Malware - Ransomware
Ransomware is a Cryptovirology attack carried out using covertly installed malware that encrypts the victim's files and then requests a ransom payment in return for the decryption key that is needed to recover the encrypted files.

9. 1. The Problem of Malware - Root Kit
A rootkit is a collection of computer software, typically malicious, designed to enable access to a computer or areas of its software that would not otherwise be allowed (for example, to an unauthorized user) while at the same time masking its existence or the existence of other software.

10. 1. The Problem of Malware - Spyware
Spyware is software that aims to gather information about a person or organization without their knowledge and that may send such information to another entity without the consumer's consent, or that asserts control over a computer without the consumer's knowledge.

11. 1. The Problem of Malware - Trojan Horse
A Trojan horse, or Trojan, is any malicious computer program which is used to hack into a computer by misleading users of its true intent. The term is derived from the Ancient Greek story of the wooden horse that was used to help Greek troops invade the city of Troy by stealth. Trojans are generally spread by some form of social engineering, for example where a user is duped into executing an attachment disguised to be unsuspicious, or by drive-by download. Although their payload can be anything, many modern forms act as a backdoor, contacting a controller which can then have unauthorized access to the affected computer.

12. 1. The Problem of Malware - Virus
A computer virus is a malware that, when executed, replicates by reproducing itself or infecting other programs by modifying them.
Viruses often perform some type of harmful activity on infected hosts, such as acquisition of hard disk space or CPU time, accessing private information, corrupting data, displaying political or humorous messages on the user's screen, spamming their contacts, logging their keystrokes, or even rendering the computer useless.

13. 1. The Problem of Malware - Worm
A computer worm is a standalone malware computer program that replicates itself in order to spread to other computers. Often, it uses a computer network to spread itself, relying on security failures on the target computer to access it. Unlike a computer virus, it does not need to attach itself to an existing program. Worms almost always cause at least some harm to the network, even if only by consuming bandwidth, whereas viruses almost always corrupt or modify files on a targeted computer.

14. 2. Symptoms of Malware Infection
While these types of malware differ greatly in how they spread and infect computers, they all can produce similar symptoms. Computers that are infected with malware can exhibit any of the following symptoms:
Increased CPU usage
Slow computer or web browser speeds
Problems connecting to networks
Freezing or crashing
Modified or deleted files
Appearance of strange files, programs, or desktop icons

15. 2. Symptoms of Malware Infection (continued)
While these types of malware differ greatly in how they spread and infect computers, they all can produce similar symptoms. Computers that are infected with malware can exhibit any of the following symptoms:
Programs running, turning off, or reconfiguring themselves (malware will often reconfigure or turn off antivirus and firewall programs)
Strange computer behavior
s/messages being sent automatically and without user’s knowledge (a friend receives a strange from you that you did not send)

16. 3. Prevention of Malware Infection
There are several general best practices that organizations and individual users should follow to prevent malware infections. Some malware cases require special prevention and treatment methods, but following these recommendations will greatly increase a user’s protection from a wide range of malware:

17. 3. Prevention of Malware Infection (continued)
Keep software and operating systems up to date with current vulnerability patches. These patches are often released to patch bugs or other security flaws that could be exploited by attackers.

18. 3. Prevention of Malware Infection (continued)
Install and run anti-malware and firewall software. When selecting software, choose a program that offers tools for detecting, quarantining, and removing multiple types of malware. At the minimum, anti-malware software should protect against viruses, spyware, adware, Trojans, and worms. The combination of anti-malware software and a firewall will ensure that all incoming and existing data gets scanned for malware and that malware can be safely removed once detected.

19. 3. Prevention of Malware Infection (continued)
Be vigilant when downloading files, programs, attachments, etc. Downloads that seem strange or are from an unfamiliar source often contain malware.