- What Are
Trojans?
- Wide Variety Of
Malware Applications
It is a testament to the growing complexity of
spyware and other malware, that there are now so
many different categories of malicious software
that can be installed on your computer.
-
- A Trojan is only
one type of malware and yet there are also
several sub categories of Trojan that have
different characteristics, symptoms, and
effects. Typically and usually, though, a Trojan
is installed on your computer without your
knowledge of prior consent. This is usually done
in order to give the hacker that created the
Trojan some vestige of control over your
computer.
Remote Access Trojans
Remote access Trojans are potentially the most
damaging. These give control of your computer
and, therefore, access to all of your files and
folders to the hacker. In theory they can read
all of your personal files, and even your
cookies and auto fill preferences. This can give
them easy access to your online accounts.
Data Sending Trojans
Data sending Trojans are commonly used for
advertising purposes, although again they could
be easily used for data theft. As the name would
suggest these Trojans take information from your
computer and transmit them back to the hacker.
In the case of advertising Trojans this
information is used to serve adverts on your PC
that you are apparently more likely to click.
Destructive Trojans
Destructive Trojans may not result in Data theft
but can be damaging anyway. Once the Trojan is
installed on your computer it will begin to
systematically or completely randomly delete
information from your computer. This can include
files, folders, registry entries, and important
system files. Eventually a destructive Trojan is
likely to cause the failure of your operating
system and, therefore, your computer.
Proxy Trojans
A Proxy Trojan is less damaging in some ways but
can cause untold damage in other ways. Hackers
need to hide their identity and their location.
A proxy Trojan installs on your computer and is
then used by the hacker to access the Internet.
Any action they take is then registered to your
computer. Often this can be relatively harmless
but potentially you could have your IP
registered for spamming and you could even be
investigated for online crimes.
FTP Trojans
An FTP Trojan acts like an FTP server once it
has been installed on a computer. This means
that the hacker can download any program or file
from your computer and, similarly, he or she can
download anything onto your computer. Not only
can this, once again, lead to data or identity
theft but it also provides hackers with a way to
install further malware on your computer to
wreak even more havoc.
Other Trojans
More specific Trojans include security software
disablers that disable anti-virus and
anti-spyware programs. These leave you open to
attack from a great many sources and because a
Trojan is already on your computer it is likely
that it can perform other, more damaging
actions. DoS Trojans are installed on your
computer and while they may not cause you damage
they can bring down major websites. They do this
by installing on numerous members’ computers
from that website. They then bombard the site
with requests and cause it to suffer from
outage. This has attacked even some of the major
e-commerce sites like Amazon.
How We Become Infected By Trojans
Infection from Trojans is alarmingly simple.
There are three very common ways to become
infected that most computer users perform on a
very regular basis. Email attachments can
contain disguised Trojans that install without
your knowledge. Freeware and shareware software
is a veritable haven for Trojan software but
even the simple act of surfing the Internet and
visiting websites can lead to a Trojan being
downloaded on your system.
Conclusion
Trojans are only one class of malware but they
are a particularly damaging one. Some Trojans
can assist hackers in performing data theft,
stealing your personal information even bank
account details. The exact effects of a Trojan
depend entirely on the Trojan itself and its
intended use. However, in all cases, the quick
removal is highly advised using automated
anti-spyware or anti-Trojan software.
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