Common methods of attack and types of malware
Some of the more common types of attacks are hoaxes, password cracking, denial of service attacks/distributed denial of service attacks, fake antivirus attacks, etc. Other terms to be familiar with include spoofing, which is essentially impersonating, phishing, which is impersonating and trying to get information; spear phishing which is replicating a common site to try to get more information from people; whaling – which is focusing on trying to get specific information on high-profile people; and vhishing which is using voice mail to drive to a website.
Malware is simply unauthorized software that’s placed on someone’s computer with their knowledge or consent. Malware is meant to infect a computer system, conceal the actions and make some monetary gain. There are a number of types of malware, including:
- Viruses – requires a transport vehicle, like e-mail, and user action (like opening a file) to launch a program that can do various types of activities like erasing files, causing crashes, etc.
- Worms – unlike viruses, worms do not require a user action and they can travel by themselves. Worms perform similar functions as viruses
- Trojan Horse – program that’s advertised to perform one function, but actually perform a malicious function.
- Rootkit – software to break into a computer to perform unauthorized functions – VERY difficult to find an remove
- Logic bombs – program that’s designed to trigger based on some logic
- SPAM – unsolicited e-mail
- Spyware – designed to spy – includes adware and key-loggers
