Name Origins
Malware is short for "malicious software", obviously because of the damage that it causes to computers.
Types of Malware
There are many different types of malware, such as:
- Computer viruses (computer program that can replicate itself and spread from one program to another to cause harm)
- Spyware (a program that can grant the attacker access to a system's information and is extremely hard to detect. A particular malicious form of this malware is the Trojan Horse)
- Worm (program that replicates itself to attack computers, but does this through exploiting a system's vulnerabilities)
- Dialers (used by hackers to test for vulnerable systems)
- Computer viruses (computer program that can replicate itself and spread from one program to another to cause harm)
- Spyware (a program that can grant the attacker access to a system's information and is extremely hard to detect. A particular malicious form of this malware is the Trojan Horse)
- Worm (program that replicates itself to attack computers, but does this through exploiting a system's vulnerabilities)
- Dialers (used by hackers to test for vulnerable systems)
Uses of Malware
The earliest forms of Malware were used as pranks, but have since evolved into more serious uses.
Many times, malware is used against government and corporation websites to gather information, which is a form of cyberterrorism (see hacking page). It can also be used against individuals to gather personal information, that can aid in identity theft. A popular way that this is used is through phishing, which is defined as when an email is sent to a user that when clicked, implants a form of malware into the computer that allows attacker to gain information.
More recently, with the widespread use of internet, malware has become used for commercial purposes, such as sending spam. It is especially hard to detect the source of spam, as normally spam spreads through networks of thousands of "zombie" computers.
Many times, malware is used against government and corporation websites to gather information, which is a form of cyberterrorism (see hacking page). It can also be used against individuals to gather personal information, that can aid in identity theft. A popular way that this is used is through phishing, which is defined as when an email is sent to a user that when clicked, implants a form of malware into the computer that allows attacker to gain information.
More recently, with the widespread use of internet, malware has become used for commercial purposes, such as sending spam. It is especially hard to detect the source of spam, as normally spam spreads through networks of thousands of "zombie" computers.
Timeline of Malware
1988- Robert Tappan Morris, a Cornell computer scientist and MIT professor, released the first internet worm that infected over 6,000 computers. Supposedly, his software was intended to test for security holes, not overload computers.
1999 and 2000- The Melissa and ILOVEYOU viruses hit millions of people worldwide, being the most widespread forms of viruses to date. Both of these viruses were spread through email. The Melissa virus only replicated itself to the first few people on a person's contact list, but the ILOVEYOU virus replicated itself to everyone on a person's contact list.
2010- A malware called Stuxnet was discovered and supposedly created by the United States and Israel to attack Iranian nuclear facilities.
2012- A malware called Flame was used to target Middle Eastern countries, similarly to Stuxnet
1999 and 2000- The Melissa and ILOVEYOU viruses hit millions of people worldwide, being the most widespread forms of viruses to date. Both of these viruses were spread through email. The Melissa virus only replicated itself to the first few people on a person's contact list, but the ILOVEYOU virus replicated itself to everyone on a person's contact list.
2010- A malware called Stuxnet was discovered and supposedly created by the United States and Israel to attack Iranian nuclear facilities.
2012- A malware called Flame was used to target Middle Eastern countries, similarly to Stuxnet
Prevention
There are many anti-malware softwares available that regularly detect and remove potential malware from your computer. You should also use a firewall, an updated browser, and an email provider that has a spam filter.
You should also be careful of downloading anything from:
- untrusted websites (including illegal file-sharing websites)
- email (spam)
- pop-up email
You should also be careful of downloading anything from:
- untrusted websites (including illegal file-sharing websites)
- email (spam)
- pop-up email