Online Scams, Malware
and Spyware Information
Part Three
Understanding and Protecting Yourself
from Malware, Spyware, and Adware
<<Back Home Next>>
| Understanding Malware Malware (Coming from MALicious softWARE) is any software program developed for the purpose of gathering personal information without your knowledge or explicit consent, or to cause harm to, or compromise the security of, a computer system, similar to a virus or trojan horse. Malware can be classified based on how it is executed, how it spreads, and/or what it does. The classification is not strictly defined since groups often overlap and the difference isn't always obvious. It is very common for people to use the words adware, spyware, and malware interchangeably. To help protect your systems from Malware it's critical that you install and use anti-virus programs, firewalls, and spyware detectors. Here are a few types of Malware: Keylogger A keylogger is software that copies a computer user's keystrokes to a file, which it may send to a hacker at a later time. Often the keylogger will only "awaken" when a computer user connects to a secure website, such as a bank. It then logs the keystrokes, which may include account numbers, PIN numbers and passwords, BEFORE they are encrypted by the secure website. Spyware Spyware is software that collects and sends information (such as browsing patterns in the more benign cases or credit card numbers in more malignant cases) about users or, more precisely, the results of their computer activity, typically without explicit notification. They usually work and spread like Trojan horses. The category of spyware is sometimes taken to include adware of the less-forthcoming sort. |