Malware Flashcards
What is a virus
This is a piece of code that is designed to replace itself throughout the computer or network
What is a worm (computing terms)
This is just like a virus but instead of trying to harm the file it tries to copy itself so many times it crashes the system
What is a Trojan
A Trojan appears to be harmless (i.e a video game) but in the background it is carrying out its real intent like letting someone else access your computer
What is adware
This can force your browser to display unwanted pop-up advertisements. It can also cause pages that you didn’t request to open up taking you to unwanted websites (E.g Porn page)
What is click fraud
This aims to use your computer resources to open certain web sites and send a mouse click to the adverts. Every click makes them money and the user is not aware of this
What is pharming
This will try to take you to an identical looking, but fake website. It does this by changing the IP address of the genuine site
What is Spyware
This stays hidden out of view and is designed to spy on your computer looking for personal information it does this by using a key logger to record every key pressed on the keyboard and it can take screen shots
What is Ransomware
This encrypts critical files and data making them unusable. Eventually it presents the user with a ransom, demanding money be sent to the attackers to unlock the system
What is Scareware
This will cause a pop-up to appear on your screen which will say something like ‘Your computer has a virus. To clear the problem please purchase this software’ In reality you do not have a virus and it is trying to scare you into downloading the software which may contain malware
What are rootkits
These give other people permissions and access to your computer, allowing them to take over it. It is designed to run even before the OS itself is booted up and it continues to stay active in the background
