Do you know how Atlanta, Baltimore, and other major U.S. cities were ravaged by cyberattacks in 2018? The cybercriminals involved in those attacks were bold and skilled enough to dismantle the cybersecurity solutions of the city systems. As a consequence, information from police investigations was lost in Atlanta and the public services system in Baltimore became inoperable for a considerable period of time.
These attacks signify the rise of cybercriminals who are taking on individuals, SMEs, large organizations, and governments with no remorse. Therefore, it is important to learn about the common types of malware so you can take steps to prevent these issues.
Trojan
A long time ago, the Greeks were involved in a war. At that time, they were unable to get past the defenses of the city of Troy while battling their opponents, the Trojans. Therefore, they came with a cunning tactic in which a large-sized horse was put in front of the gate of the city and they made it appear as if they had sailed away. In reality, some of their men were hidden inside the horse. The naïve Trojans celebrated and moved the horse into the city as a trophy. In the night, the Greeks emerged out from the horse and opened the gate. Thus, the Greek army entered, plundered the city and won the war.
This ancient tale applies to modern times as well, when cybercriminals attack businesses with one of the most common and prominent malware known as a Trojan horse or simply Trojan. Like the actual horse, a Trojan is a masquerade; it is a computer program which disguises itself as a useful application or file. Users are duped into downloading this malware as it offers a false promise. As they download it into their system, the Trojan unleashes its malicious components that compromise the system’s security and allow other cyberthreats to invade the system.
Virus
Virus is often used as a blanket term to cover all types of malware in non-IT circles. This is because it is one of the oldest malware and one of the most popular ones. However, a virus maintains its uniqueness through its ability to propagate to multiple systems, recreate itself repeatedly, and attach itself to different types of files.
For example, suppose a document which currently resides outside of your network gets infected with a virus. If that file is later transferred to your computer, then it can also infect other documents in your system.
Most freeware programs on the internet are laced with viruses. On the internet, many people attempt to look for pirated files in order to save money. Cybercriminals make use of this trend and upload various pirated files in the form of software, games, movies, and other similar files, albeit with a virus attached.
How is your cybersecurity solution holding up? Contact ASA Computers so we can analyze your security measures and help you keep your system safe from virus and other types of malware.