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Solve : Differences.? |
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Answer» Whats the difference between a Virus and a Worm and Malware etc etc and any other I may have forgotten. Malware, a portmanteau from the words malicious and software, is software designed to infiltrate or damage a computer system without the owner's informed consent.More info, including definitions of all malware forms, there.OK So malware pretty much covers the spectrum. Got it so far and I have an "IDEA" as to the others but figured I'd get it from the horses mouth so to speak. So to go a step further what are the differences between the underlings.Did you read the link? It describes those differences. Quote viruses, worms, trojan horses, most rootkits, spyware, dishonest adware, crimewareAll the above are clickable links leading to appropriate definitions.More of simple definitions: http://www.norman.com/security_center/malware_types/enJust to have it in one place...... Adware Adware is software that enables displaying banner advertisements when the program is running. Adware may register your Internet behaviour, and is often mentioned in connection with Spyware, because both may register and report user information to a third party. Backdoor A program that installs itself in such a way that the infected computer can be accessed and controlled remotely. Bot / Botnet Several high profile web pages have been victims of so-called Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. These assaults have been carried out by a set of bot (robot) computers that simultaneously send lots of requests to a special computer or a certain network. The amount of data is so huge that the computer(s) under attack are unable to handle the load, and are thereby rendered inaccessable for their intended, legitimate tasks. The users of the computers that are parts of such an attack, are often unaware of this fact - thus the computers are often called zombie computers. The person that control the attack - "the brain behind" - is located elsewhere and just presses a key to initiate the attack. Computers that are part of a network, which itself is controlled by a robot, is often called a botnet. Greyware The term greyware is used for software that may be viewed as useful in some instances, but which also includes component(s) that may be seen as malicious or annoying in other contexts. Hoax From time to time there are virus alerts which turn out to be false alarms. Several of these are rumors saying that by opening an e-mail with a particular subject you are infected. Some also states that by opening a particular attachment to an e-mail INFECTS your PC. Quite many such virus hoaxes or myths exist. Among the most famous are The Irina virus, The Deeyenda virus, Good Times, Win a holiday, The California virus (aka Wobbler) and so on. Such a myth may say that if you open an email with e.g. the subject "Good Times" your PC's files will be deleted. Email programs can be used to send attachments to an email message. Such attachments may be binary files (program files) or documents. By opening such an attachment without checking for virus by an updated virus control program, you are at the same risk as if you run any program or open any document without virus checking. This is in fact one of the most common ways to be infected by a malicious program. You should always use an updated version of Norman's antivirus products to check the file before running the attachment. Virus hoaxes often have these characteristics: * Several exclamation marks in the Subject field. * A lot of exclamation marks and capital letters in the body of the email. * Claims that the message originated from a well-known company (IBM, Microsoft etc.), thereby trying to make the message more reliable. * Warnings that you should not open an email with a special subject or an attachment with a special name. * It urges you to forward the email immediately to friends, colleagues and business associates to warn these. For a more complete explanation and list of virus hoaxes, see www.vmyths.org Image spam Spam using images as all or parts of the text. Intended An attempt to create a malicious program. However, due to programming error(s) the malware does not function (as intended). Keylogger Keyloggers are normally used as spyware. They are programs, which log the keys pressed on a keyboard and send this to a third party through a communication channel. Keyloggers may be used e.g. for stealing passwords. Rootkit Rootkits are software used to hide files, running processes, Registry entries, or other kinds of data. Although a rootkit may be used for legitimate purposes, it is a fact that this technology is often used by authors of malicious software to hide the malware they try to distribute. Spam Spam is not malicious software in its pure sence. Spam is unsolicited information, and may perhaps be called "nuisanceware". The most common channel for SPAM is email, although any communication channel may be used (web, Instant messaging etc.). It is estimated that email-based SPAM constitutes far more than 50% of all email traffic through the Internet. The spammers use different techniques to attempt to avoid the spam to be DETECTED by antispam software, e.g. using images as all or parts of the text (image spam). Pharming Pharming is a sophisticated, special form for phishing. The PHARMERS utilize the DNS system; i.e. the system on the Internet that translates a computer name to an Internet Protocol address (IP address). The pharmers attempt to change the host name to another IP address than the real legitimate address. This enables the pharmer to e.g set up a web page that looks like a bank's web page, and thereby collect lots of personal information. Another (older) word for pharming is DNS poisoning. Phishing The word phishing is derived from fishing. It is used to DECRIBE attacks where someone attempts to get your personal information, like passwords, credit card numbers, bank account numbers etc. Fake (spoofed) emails that without closer inspection seem to originate from legitimate organizations and corporations are typical tools for the phishers. These emails try to trick you into believing that you get a real request from your bank or a similar corporation, in order for you to release private information to the person with malicious intent. The phishers are often hard to track down, and may also operate from countries where the legislation system does not prohibit this kind of activity. Proof of Concept A program written to show that a particular technique is possible to use. These type of malware usually contains deliberate omissions and/or non-functional part of program code, so that a functional malware is not created. Ransomware This term is used for those instances when a malicious program encrypts files on a computer, and (usually) leaves a message that a certain ransom has to be PAID for the decryption key to be disclosed. Ransomware is usually distributed as email attachments. The encryption process is executed when the attachment is opened. Spyware Spyware is programs that collect information about a person or an organization without that entity's consent and awareness. Users are often installing spyware without being aware of it; either by downloading something presumed to be useful, or by selecting/clicking something in a pop-up window. Trojan A trojan or trojan horse is a program that seems to be genuine and even useful, and thereby tricks the users to install/use it. When the program is run however, it will perform other (often additional) actions, like setting up backdoors so that hackers may access your computer. Virus A computer virus is designed to copy itself and propagate from one computer file to another, usually by attaching itself to program files. When the infected program is run it may infect other files. Human intervention is necessary for a virus to spread between computers and systems. This may be accomplished by e.g. downloading files, exchange of diskettes/CDs/DVDs, copying files to and from file servers, and sending infected email attachments. Vishing This is a special kind of Phishing where Voice over IP (VoIP) is used as the communication channel instead of the more usual email technique. The term "vishing" is derived from VoIP and phishing. Worm A worm will infect other computers. A network worm will also spread automatically in a network and is independent on human interaction. Thus, worms are faster spreaders than viruses. Normally worms will neither delete nor change files. However, they may be loaded into computer memory, and thereby result in slower computer performance. Much appreciated. Quote from: MP1975 on June 17, 2009, 10:33:42 PM figured I'd get it from the horses mouth so to speak. Oh, so we're horses now, are we? horses are wise animals I'm more like the back end of the horse... meaning you kick a** like a horse does to some people, or you are the a**? Nice attempt at a save, there, blockHEAD, but I'm reminded of the old story where a famous Hollywood director was filming an old time stage show, with a two person horse costume. The director was told he'd need two people for the horse costume. He asked, "Where are we gong to find someone for the front end of the horse?" oh, I see my bad |
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