Written By: Jose J. Rodriguez-Sanchez
MSIT 660 Final Project
Malware / Spyware
What is Malware?
The term malware is an abbreviation for malicious software. Malware is software that is designed to cause harm, reduce performance, produce erroneous results, disrupt service, or damage to a computer or computer network, without the consent of the owner.
There are four main categories of malware.
Virus- "A program or piece of code that is loaded onto your computer without your knowledge and runs against your wishes. Viruses can also replicate themselves. All computer viruses are manmade. A simple virus that can make a copy of itself over and over again is relatively easy to produce. Even such a simple virus is dangerous because it will quickly use all available memory and bring the system to a halt. An even more dangerous type of virus is one capable of transmitting itself across networks and bypassing security systems." (Webopedia, 2007)
Trojan Horse- "destructive program that masquerades as a benign application. Unlike viruses, Trojan horses do not replicate themselves but they can be just as destructive. One of the most insidious types of Trojan horse is a program that claims to rid your computer of viruses but instead introduces viruses onto your computer." (Webopedia, 2007)
Adware- "A form of spyware that collects information about the user in order to display advertisements in the Web-browser based on the information it collects from the user's browsing patterns." (Webopedia, 2007)
Worms- "A program or algorithm that replicates itself over a computer network and usually performs malicious actions, such as using up the computer's resources and possibly shutting the system down." (Webopedia, 2007)
Malware is usually software written to create ciaos, but not all malware were intended to have harmful effects. Software that is developed and not properly tested can eventually be classified as malware. Although its original intent was not malicious, poorly written software and untested software can generate harmful events, which leads it to become classified as malware. Free software known as shareware and freeware are prime candidates for infecting your computer system, because they are usually written by inexperience programmers or small companies with limited resources to effectively test the software.
Malware does not necessary have to do damage to a computer system in order to be effective. As a matter of fact, many unethical companies' use malware to motivate computer owners and users to purchase their product. They transmit malware that is just annoying enough to get the computer owners and users to buy but their anti-malware software. So in a sense these companies infect your computer and then solicit the computer owner to buy their product, just to remove the malware they infected your system with in the first place.
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