Worms
A worm is able to send out copies of itself to people in your address book. And then those send on to others, which causes an extreme load on network traffic, subsequently slowing down the Internet as a whole. Worms do not need to affix to a host program or file, and can spread without user interaction.
Worms propagate generally by scanning for vulnerable machines and networks, or they lure users into executing an attachment by playing on a user's curiosity. They may also propagate simply by a user opening an email.
Worms may contain the ability to :
- slow down the Internet due to the excess traffic created
- create an open-relay for use by spammers
- target denial of service to specific websites/companies
- use Trojan like activities to "phone home" with sensitive data such as credit card information (mainly to steal someone's identity to commit crime)
- erase data after infecting a system
- disabling antivirus programs, firewalls, auto-update programs
- open a backdoor port to retrieve malicious code from the Internet.
Trojan Horses
Trojan Horses (Trojan for short) are computer programs disguised as functional software, but compromise your security and may cause a lot of damage. Trojans spread easily as people are enticed to execute it, thinking it is helpful software, screen savers, games or jokes.
Once executed by a user, most Trojan horses use auto-start methods, so when you shut down your computer, it is able to restart itself, giving an attacker access to your PC.
There are many variations of Trojan horses. They may contain the ability to :
- give an attacker access to your PC, and therefore files etc.
- steal passwords and send them to an attacker's address, without the user noticing anything.
- log keystrokes of the user (example: where user has entered credit card information and thus steal the information)
- destroy and delete files
- to start a DdoS (distributed denial of service) if enough machines are infected
- disable antivirus programs, firewalls etc.
How Trojans spread
There are many methods in which Trojan Horses spread. A few of them are :
- via ICQ
- via IRC
- email attachments
- browser and email software bugs
- filesharing
- downloading software/games etc. from untrusted sites.
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