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Virus
A computer virus is a ‘piece of code’ or program developed to corrupt the data or program
files stored on the computer system. It enters in the computer without permission of the user.
The user of the computer may not even realise that the computer is affected by a virus. Viruses
typically infect just one computer, however, if the computer is a part of a network, then the
computer virus may spread to other systems much like a human virus which transmits from one
person to another.
Worms
A computer worm is a type of malware that can replicate itself without any human interaction.
It consumes lots of memory space in replication. Once a computer has been infected by a
worm, its processing speed gets slow down, works unexpectedly and halts other tasks. A
computer worm can spread itself from one computer to the other by replication process.
Trojan Horse
The purpose of a trojan horse is to conceal itself inside the software that seems legitimate. When
the software is installed on the system, the trojan activates and infects the host system.
Tech Funda
The term ‘trojan’ is derived from the Trojan Horse story in Greek mythology, which
explains how the Greeks were able to enter the fortified city of Troy by hiding their
soldiers in a large wooden horse given to the Trojans as a gift. The Trojans were very fond
of horses and trusted the gift blindly. In the night, the soldiers emerged and attacked
the city from within.
Spyware
The primary function of spyware is to monitor a user’s activity and send back the information
it gathers to a hacker. Spyware does not have any infection mechanisms of its own. It is usually
dropped by trojans (and also by viruses and worms). Once dropped, it installs itself on the victim’s
computer and remains there silently to avoid detection.
Zombie
A zombie works similarly to spyware. Although the infection mechanisms remain the same,
a zombie does not usually collect information from the computer. Instead, it just sits there
waiting for commands from the hacker. Hackers can sometimes infect hundreds of thousands of
computers, turning them into zombie machines.
Ransomware
Ransom is the money demanded to release the hostage kidnapped for the purpose. Similarly,
ransomware is malicious software used to kidnap the data on the host system by encrypting it.
The victim of the host system has to pay a huge amount of money to the attacker to get back
access to their data.
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