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Controversy - real or manufactured - surrounds the name 'spybot'. Staunch defenders of 'Spybot - Search & Destroy' claim spybot is the name of a product and they condemn antivirus vendors for using the term Spybot worm. And the developer of Spybot-S&D, Patrick Kolla, complained in June 2003 that another company threatened to enforce trademark privileges and prevent Kolla from using the name in his product. Still others claim that it is Patrick himself who has trademarked the term spybot. |
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In its simplest form, a keylogger trojan is malicious, surreptitious software that monitors your keystrokes, logging them to a file and sending them off to remote attackers. Some keyloggers are sold as commercial software - the type a parent might use to record their children's online activities or a suspicious spouse might install to keep tabs on their partner. |
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In 1983, Fred Cohen coined the term "computer virus", postulating a virus was "a program that can 'infect' other programs by modifying them to include a possibly evolved copy of itself." Mr. Cohen expanded his definition a year later in his 1984 paper, "A Computer Virus", noting that "a virus can spread throughout a computer system or network using the authorizations of every user using it to infect their programs. Every program that gets infected may also act as a virus and thus the infection grows." |
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A Trojan is a self-contained program that appears to be legitimate, but in fact does something malicious. Trojans do not infect other files as viruses do, nor do Trojans make copies of themselves as worms do. |
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Before discussing what a boot sector virus does, let's first take a look at what a boot sector is. A floppy disk or hard drive is comprised of many segments and clusters of segments, which (in the case of a hard drive) may be separate by partitions. There has to be a way to find all the data spread across these segments, hence the boot sector operates as a virtual rendition of a library's Dewey Decimal system. Each disk also has a Master Boot Record or (MBR) that locates and runs the first of any necessary operating system files needed to facilitate operation of the disk. When a disk is read, it first seeks the MBR, which then passes control to the boot sector, which in turn provides pertinent information regarding what is located on the disk and where it is located. The boot sector also maintains the information that identifies the type and version of the operating system the disk was formatted with. |
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Trojans are often used to launch Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks against targeted systems, but just what is a DDoS attack and how are they performed?
At its most basic level, a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack overwhelms the target system with data, such that the response from the target system is either slowed or stopped altogether. In order to create the necessary amount of traffic, a network of zombie or bot computers is most often used.
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Ever received one of those emails that pretends to be TO someone else, passing on some hot stock tip they've learned? Referred to as 'pump and dump' scams, the intent of the email is to get lots of people to take advantage of this unexpected windfall of information and buy the stock. This inflates the price, at which time the scammers sell their shares for a hefty profit. |
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Ever received one of those emails that pretends to be TO someone else, passing on some hot stock tip they've learned? Referred to as 'pump and dump' scams, the intent of the email is to get lots of people to take advantage of this unexpected windfall of information and buy the stock. This inflates the price, at which time the scammers sell their shares for a hefty profit. |
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In its simplest form, behavior blocking monitors file activities, preventing certain modifications to the operating system or related files. For example, behavior blockers may monitor the system registry, and warn users accordingly if a file being executed is attempting to modify it. Some programs, of course, do this legitimately, i.e. a SETUP program. Other files, however, may have malicious intent. The key benefit to a behavior blocker is that it questions whether the action was expected and whether the user wants to allow it. |
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RATs, or Remote Access Trojans, provide a "backdoor" into the system through which the unscrupulous hacker can snoop into your system - even running other malicious code if s/he chooses. They can even use these hijacked systems, called zombies, to launch attacks on others. Some examples of RATs include Sysbug, Back Orifice, and Lamer's Death. For more information on RATs, see: Haunting Thought: Is Your PC a Zombie?.
Also Known As: RAT, backdoor
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