When the WannaCry ransomware attack wrought havoc with the NHS just two months ago, malware exploded into the international consciousness. With everyone on high alert, the Petya attack that broke just weeks later was met with similar levels of alarm. As awareness of malware rises, more and more people are fretting about the security of their own computers, and how best to defend themselves. To find out everything you need to know about malware, read on.
Rundown of different threats
Malware is an umbrella term for any form of malicious software that is designed to disrupt a computer system in any way. For that reason, malware can take a variety of forms, all of which can be extremely damaging. Here are the ones you need to know about:
Virus
In the simplest terms, a virus is a malicious program that, after some form of user interaction, self-replicates.
Worm
A worm, meanwhile, is able to self-replicate without any action on behalf of the user, making it particularly dangerous.
Trojan horse
According to Ancient Greek mythology, the Greeks concealed themselves within a huge Trojan horse, which was ostensibly a war concession, and then emerged at nightfall to vanquish their unsuspecting enemies – the Trojans. In a similar fashion, in computing, a Trojan horse sneaks in alongside a legitimate piece of software undetected. From there, the Trojan can have any number of different purposes but, unlike viruses and worms, they will not propagate beyond the hacked system.
How do viruses, worms and trojans get onto your system?
Malware and viruses reach your devices in numerous ways. The more secure your business is the higher the chances of repelling them. Using multiple apps and software is an example. Unifying a streamlined software infrastructure will help,such as being able to use a docx editor from within a single environment rather than various different applications.
Phishing
Phishing relies on the intended target believing that the attacker is, in fact, the entity they are pretending to be. An email, purportedly from your bank, asking for your card details is an example of a phishing scam.
Baiting
Another fishing analogy, baiting is reliant on natural human curiosity and desire. Baiting techniques can be relatively diverse. One infamous example involves haphazardly-placed micro-USBs. Upon being discovered by the intended target, it is a more than natural response to want to find out what is on the micro-USB. By opening a seemingly harmless .img file, they could inadvertently start running malware – all because of natural human curiosity.
How do viruses, worms and trojans manifest themselves on your computer?
Spyware
Spyware, an iteration of a virus, is designed to steal your personal details – anything from email logins and passwords, to card details and personal information. It can operate without you noticing it.
Ransomware
The form that both the WannaCry and Petya attacks took was ransomware. As you can probably guess, ransomware requires the user to pay a fee before they regain access to their encrypted files. After locking the user out of all of their files, invariably a pop-up will appear dictating the attacker’s demands.
How you can defend against malware?
As malware is constantly altered to bypass antivirus software, even the most comprehensive anti-malware program cannot completely protect your computer from being affected by malicious software. Even so, anti malware software remains your best bet.
