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Some of the malwares are as follows:
Virus: A computer virus is a program that is able to copy itself when it is run. It gets activated
each time the program or file to which it is attached is opened or executed. It is the most
common type of malware. It can spread itself by infecting other programs or files. This
affects the original program, causing it to no longer work properly.
Worm: A worm is similar to virus but it can copy itself and spread rapidly to any device
attached. A worm does not need any program to activate it.
Trojan Horse: A trojan horse is a dangerous virus. It represents itself as helpful software
program. Once the user clicks on it to agree to run it, it gains access to sensitive data and then
modifies, blocks, or deletes the data. It cannot copy itself from one computer to another.
Spyware: A spyware steals important information and data on the device, such as account
passwords or bank details. It observes the user's activity without their knowledge.
Adware: An adware tracks user's browser and download history and keeps popping
advertisements on the screen.
Factbot
In 1986, the first virus was written for Windows based PCs by two brothers, Basit and Amjad
Farooq Alvi, from Pakistan, who were only 17 and 24 years old at the time. They named it “Brain”.
THE MOST DANGEROUS MALWARES KNOWN
Wabbit Virus (1974) makes multiple copies of itself until the system slows down and crashes.
ILOVEYOU Virus (2000) worked by sending a fake “love letter” that looked like a harmless
text file.
Code Red Worm (2001) would spread itself with the message: “Hacked By Chinese!”
Mydoom Worm (2004) scraped addresses from infected machines, then sent copies of itself
to those addresses.
Storm Worm (2007) attacked millions of computers with an email about approaching bad
weather.
Zeus, also known as Zbot Trojan horse (2007) was made with an intention to steal banking
information of United States Department of Transportation.
Emotet (2014) is considered one of the most destructive and dangerous Trojans. It spreads
through spam emails to steal banking information.
Pegasus (2016) is commercial spyware. It secretly infects a smartphone (Android or iOS)
and tracks the device completely for every action.
What if you could design an impenetrable cyber fortress to protect your computer
from hackers? What features would it have, and how would you use technology
to build it?
Safeguarding Your Computer 95

