Types of Malware

Malware is a shorthand for malicious software. As the name suggests, it is legitimate code doing illegal things. They are intentionally created to cause serious damage to the target system and perform a variety of functions without your knowledge or permission, such as stealing, encrypting, deleting, or modifying sensitive data, hijacking or monitoring computer activity, and more.

There are many different types of malware. They include viruses, worms, Trojan horses, ransomware, spyware, adware, malware, scareware, spam, bots, and fileless malware. This section introduces each of these malware features and their threats.

Viruses

A virus is malicious software code that can execute itself repeatedly. It spreads from one host to another by connecting to a network. The virus remains dormant until a file is opened and executed. Once executed, they are designed to act with the intent of interfering with the system's ability to operate. The virus can bring down critical systems that hold sensitive data and cripple an organization's activities for an extended period of time. In the worst case scenario, a company may be at risk of going bankrupt.

Worms

Worms are self-replicating malware that can spread to any device in a network. Worms cause at least some degree of harm to the network. The viruses just described are more troublesome than worms because they always corrupt or modify sensitive files on the target computer.

Trojan Horse

A Trojan horse is a type of software designed to perform functions such as virus removal, but actually performs malicious activity during its execution. When a user downloads a Trojan horse, it accesses a specific target system and performs functions such as accessing files, modifying or deleting data. Unlike regular viruses and worms, Trojan viruses are not designed to replicate themselves.

Ransomware

Ransomware is a type of cyber attack that encrypts data on a computer system in exchange for a decryption key and then demands payment of a ransom. It is part of the phishing practice that has become increasingly popular among cybercriminals and has resulted in millions of dollars in extraordinary losses for organizations each year. Paying the ransom to the attacker does not guarantee that the decryption key to unlock the data will be redeemed.

Adware

Adware is software that displays multiple unwanted advertisements. The main purpose of adware is to collect information from ad viewers without indicating its presence in the system. In many cases, it is infiltrated and executed on the computer as free software.

Spyware

Spyware is software that infiltrates a computer and steals browsing history and sensitive information. It typically performs the act of collecting user information and computer activity without their knowledge and passing it on to advertisers or outside users.

Rogue Software

Rogue software is a type of Internet fraud that uses malware to trick users into stealing their financial and personal number and driver license details. As their name suggests, these fraudulent programs are "rogue" and appear in Internet searches and social networks.

Scareware

Scareware uses social networking sites to exploit users' fears and induce them to install fake antivirus software. The tactic is to manipulate users into believing they need to download or purchase malicious software. The attack typically begins with a pop-up advertisement.

Spam or unsolicited email

Spam is the act of sending out a large number of unwanted e-mails. The primary purposes of spam are phishing, unsolicited messages, and commercial advertising.

Bots

Bots are self-propagating malware that attack servers. An infection using a large number of networks is called a botnet. Botnets are a combination of robots + networks. They are crawlers, spider-like automated programs. Often botnets are exploited to bring down systems in a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack.

Fileless Malware

Fileless malware is not actually a category type of malware, but rather a malware attack technique. It is simply an attack technique that embeds malicious code into scripts or loads malware into memory without writing it to disk.

Conclusion

We have introduced various types of malware. Each of these is intentionally created to inflict serious damage to the target system. Understanding the function of each malware will help you quickly understand what was executed and ensure a smooth recovery. Please contact us if you need assistance.