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i + HOW TO PREVENT YOUR PC FROM A VIRUS?
• Download only legal software. • Don’t open any unknown e-mail.
• Use the original version of Windows. • Don’t open any e-mail attachment from
• Scan Pen drive, CD and any other external unknown sources.
storage device for viruses before opening • Don’t download music, program or games
in computer. from unknown sources on the Internet.
i + MALWARE
Malware is a type of malicious program designed to damage or carry out other unwanted
actions on a computer system. In Spanish, 'mal' is a prefix that means 'bad,' making the term
'badware,' which is a good way to remember it.
There are different types of malware programs that can affect the computer in a similar way a
virus does. Some of them are the worm, trojan horse, spyware, ransomware, rootkit and backdoor.
Let us discuss these in detail.
Worms
Worms are the computer programs or algorithms which are alien to the host computer and
are designed to purposely slow down the functioning of a computer. Worms replicate inside
the system and thus occupy a huge memory space in the storage device. Worms spread more
commonly in computers that are connected on network.
Trojan Horse
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
Spywares are programs which infect and collect information of the computer without the
owner’s knowledge or consent. A spyware generally infects a computer system by getting
transmitted through internet, websites,
Info Byte
webpages, e-mails or through network
The term ‘trojan’ is derived from the Trojan
of computers. It intrudes into a
Horse story in Greek mythology, which
computer and quietly steals the data of
explains how the Greeks were able to enter the
the computer. In other words, it refers
fortified city of Troy by hiding their soldiers in
to a kind of software which can track a big wooden horse given to the Trojans as a
the activities of a computer system and gift. The Trojans were very fond of horses and
report to the users. Keylogger is an trusted the gift blindly. In the night, the soldiers
example of a spyware. emerged and attacked the city from inside.
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