Malicious Software

Question 1

Trojan

Answer 1

Malicious software that seems to perform a desirable function for the user, but instead facilitates unauthorized access to the user’s computer system.

The term is derived from the Trojan Horse story in Greek mythology.

Question 2

Worm

Answer 2

A self-replicating computer program. It sends copies of itself to other computers, and may do so without any user intervention. Unlike a virus, it doesn’t need to attach itself to an existing file. Worms almost always cause at least some harm to the network.

Question 3

Virus

Answer 3

A malicious computer program that infects a file. A true virus can only spread from one computer to another when its host (infected file) is sent to the target computer.

Question 4

Antivirus

Answer 4

Software that monitors a computer or network to identify all major types of malware and prevent or contain malware incidents. Sometimes referred to as “AV”.

Question 5

Malware

Answer 5

Short for the term “malicious software.” It’s an umbrella term used to refer to the various types of viruses, worms and trojans, etc. Most malware is installed without the infected person ever realizing it.

Question 6

Ransomware

Answer 6

Vicious malware that locks users out of their devices or blocks access to files until a sum of money or ransom is paid. Also referred to as “cryptoware.”

Question 7

Rootkit

Answer 7

Malicious code that loads into the early loading stages of a computer. The code hides itself from the OS and other apps that load in the later stages, like antivirus and system utilities. This gives the bad guy full access to alter the system.

Question 8

Botnet

Answer 8

Short for “robot network,” it’s a collection of software robots, or “bots,” that live on infected computers, and are controlled by the bad guys.

Botnets do many bad things like spew out spam, attack other computers, or send back confidential data to the botnet controller.