Malicious Software and Spam

Malicious Software and Spam

Malicious Software
The application that brings harm to a computer system is called malicious software. It is used to disrupt the operation, delete information, steal credentials, or access the system. Worms, viruses, and trojan horses are some examples of malicious software(malware).

Worms
This type of malware spreads through email, networks, and other informational channels. It is called a worm due to its behavior of replicating thousands of copies of itself in the system. It can cause a denial of service or can take up large memory in the system.

Virus
Viruses are attached to an executable file, which means the virus may exist on your computer. Still, it cannot affect your computer unless we run or open a malicious program. People unknowingly spread the virus by sharing infected files or sending emails with viruses attached to the email.

Trojan horse
Trojan horse is a program that seems desirable but is malicious code. At first, it appears to be useful software but will do damage once installed on your computer. Trojans are also known to create a backdoor on your computer that gives malicious users access to your system, possibly allowing confidental or personal information to be compromised.

Spyware
These software programs install themselves on computers to monitor user Web surfing activity and serve up advertising. Keyloggers are used to record every keystroke made on a computer to steal passwords or important credentials.

Malware Vulnerability Factors

A resource may have one or more vulnerabilities. Various factors make a system more vulnerable to malware:
1. Use of the same operating system:
If someone can hack that OS, he/she can break into any computer in the system running that OS.

2. Software bugs:
Most system contains bugs, or loopholes, which may be exploited by malware.

3. Over-privileged users and codes:
In some OS, users are over-privileged in the default configuration. They have been inappropriately granted administrator or equivalent status. Malware, running as an over-privileged code, can use this privilege to threaten the system.

4. Unconfirmed code:
Code from a floppy disk, CD-ROM, USB device, or internet may be executed without the user’s agreement. Such code may be malware sometimes and hence may cause harm to our computer system or may steal information from computers.