Malware

There is a range of unpleasant malware out there that can literally place your PC & its data into some1 else’s hand. Even if this thing or possibility doesn’t concern you, the more immediate effects of spyware, Trojans & dialers probably will. Means if u doesn’t take care of ur computer and if u try to ignore these things then u should better understand that these things will not ignore ur computer means these things are searching such computers on internet which have no protection against themselves so they can easily attack ur computer. Once any of these things gets into ur computer then ur computer will start behaving in an abnormal way.. or your ur computer will give u slow performance. In case of dialers, the first you may know about them is when an impossibly high phone bill arrives on ur doormat.

Most of the people are familiar with the concept of a computer virus : the self-replicating piece of code that hides inside another program or documents so that you unwittingly pass it on to other machines, thus spreading the infection. However, viruses are only one kind of malware, which is the term used to describe any potentially harmful software. There’s a whole list of other types of such things which do different things as per instructions.

You may well have come across a worm, which is often mistakenly called a virus& works in a similar way, except that it doesn’t need ur help to execute it…. as it can infect other computers effectively by itself. The Trojan may also be familiar to you. It’s a program that at first appears very interesting and even useful or fun to install, but once you run it the unpleasant contents are revealed, although not always immediately. Means Trojans are software that all of us install in our computer mistakenly and after getting access to ur computer it starts slowing down your computer or start doing some other works in ur computer not immediately but it do that.

You also probably familiar with spyware & adware programs that exist to promote other services either with or without your permission and that may collect marketing information about you. I think it’s better if I explain u some common malware types in a good way.. let c how can I do that hmm…

And now just c below THE SUSPECT LIST. The name below are the most common malware candidates. The below spyware programs are explained with the software name too …..means.. I am explaining u the spyware type with a true example that if u install that software then wat will happen or wat kind of spyware will get installed or…. Aaaahhh… wat should I say.. just c the details below then u will get to know that wat I am trying to say hahah…

SPYWARE: -

How it Works : Spyware is software that collects data on the PC user without his or her knowledge. This may include logging the web sites visited or even caching credit card numbers in severe cases.

Example : Gator ( This is a software which is available for download on internet) if u download and installed in ur computer then it starts producing pop-ups & partially disable firewalls. It’s manufacturer, the claria corporation denies that the application is spuware but if u install this software in ur computer then surely strange things will do gets start.

WORM: -

How it Works : Worms are similar to viruses, but they are self contained & don’t need to insert themselves into other programs or files. They use email or other file transmitting capabilities of PCs to disperse themselves.

Example : MyDoom, first detected at the end of January 2004, spread rapidly & caused a global internet slowdown.. sure it was really interesting to c that who ever developed such thing … his bug has slow down the internet world wide… it was a real disaster situation.

EXPLOIT: -

How it Works : An exploit is a piece of software designed to take advantage of a bug or flaw in another program, providing access to the host PC or the ability to damage it.

Example : Exploits tend to be known by the vulnerability that they use, like the recent OLE & COM vulnerability patched by Microsoft in February 2005.

WABBIT: -

How it Works : Wabbits are self-contained like worms, but they don’t replicate via networks. Instead they multiply repeatedly on the local computer, seriously affecting its performance, although they may have other ill effects built in, too.

Example : Cookie Monster, named after its sesame street inspiration. What it does is that it locks up the terminals, causing them to repeatedly demand cookies.

ROOT KIT: -

How it Works : There is a set of tools installed remotely on a system once it has been hacked. Root Kits exist for most operating systems & may differ depending on the method used to crack your PC.

Example : Specific examples are hard to point to, but rootkits can either give access to the Operating System “kernel” (core service of any operating system) or to applications running remotely.

TROJAN HORSE: -

How it Works : A Trojan is a malicious program disguised as legitimate software. It often renders your defenses useless or opens a backdoor for an attacker.

Example : Fraggle Rock emerged in Britain 2001. It logged keystrokes, stole passwords and provided remote access to infected PCs.

DIALLER: -

How it Works : A dialer is designed to use your modem to make an unauthorized phone call, usually to a premium rate number. The victim’s PC runs up big phone bill & the scammer collects the profits.

Example : Mejorbus used the possibility of accessing porn web cams as an enticement to download. It hijacked the browser & dialed the premium rate number at startup.

BACKDOOR: -

How it Works : A backdoor may be installed on your system via a Trojan or worm. It may also have been planted in an otherwise legitimate (legal) application. It provides a way to access your system, usually remotely, while avoiding normal authentication procedure.

Example : The SoBig worm installed backdoor that enabled infected computers to be used as spam relays.

BROWSER HIJACK: -

How it Works : Software designed to hijack your browser may be executed via a Trojan or a worm. It resets your browser home & search pages to ones favoring the site of origin. Undoing this is tricky. Means to remove these browser hijacks from your browser is quite difficult but nothing is impossible..

Example : Fastwebfinder resets the homepage to www.fastwebfinder.com . it also modified the search bar, search page and favourites of internet explorer (only).

ADWARE: -

How it Works : I think I heard this name b4. This describes software supported by advertising. In it’s most kind form, adware displays advertisements within a program. However, more intrusive advertising might trigger pop-ups or even gather marketing data. This crosses over with the next category spyware.

Example : Winad emerged in 2004. Among other behavior, it triggered numerous pop-up adverts in internet explorer (only)

VIRUS: -

How it Works : A virus is a program that can replicate itself. It spreads by inserting copies of itself into other programs or documents, in a similar manner to the way living viruses insert themselves into body cells.

Example : Elk Cloner, thought to be the first computer virus, replicate itself via floppy disks.