Malware
Malware (=MALicious softWARE) is software designed to damage or to influence a PC or a network without the owner's consent. Malware can appear in various forms of software, for example, computer viruses, worms, trojan horses, rootkits, spyware, dishonest adware and others. The distinction between software and malicious software relies on the perceived intent of the software's creator and not on particular features or software type. Creators of malware continuously come up with new ways to gain access to your PC in order to damage it, steal private information and so on. Below are a few examples of malware:
How can malware infect your PC? A few simple examples
- Installation of ActiveX controls in IE (=Internet Explorer) browser-
IE is the most popular browser world-round. Its popularity made it the number one target for malicious hackers who set out to exploit its flaws.
IE's biggest problem is its reliance on Microsoft's ActiveX technology, which allows web sites to run executable programs on your PC via your browser. IE 7 has a few security improvements compare to older versions, but this technology can still be exploited by hackers in order to install malware on your PC.
- By clicking on malicious ads or messages that install malware on your
PC-
Most of the ads and messages on the web are safe, but there are malicious ads and messages that will prompt you to download innocent looking files that end with .exe, .com, .bat, and .scr, as well as scriptable document files, including .doc and .xls. If you approve the download, these files will run executables of malware on your PC.
- Email spam, malicious emails-
Email spam and malicious emails sometimes have attachments that when opened will install malware on your PC.
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Downloading files-
By Downloading files from newsgroups or by using P2P (=Peer-to-Peer network). These files may be malware or files that malware piggybacks on.