Malware Basics

Malware is an abbreviated term used to describe a "malicious software" program. Malware includes programs such as tracking cookies, which are used to monitor your web visits. It also includes more sinister items, such as keyloggers, worms, trojanhorses and spyware. .

Malware will log your keystrokes, steal your passwords, observe your browsing choices, spawn pop-up windows, send you targeted email, redirect your web browser to phishing pages, report your personal information to distant servers, and serve up pornography. Malware will operate invisibly, often without displaying itself in your task manager.

New malicious functions are created every week by malware programmers, but the most common malware functions are - stealing your personal information and address book (identity theft and keystroke-logging). A keylogger is just what it sounds like. It is a program that logs every keystroke you make and then sends that information, including information like passwords, bank account numbers to whoever is spying on you.

Malware is defined by three characteristics. The first characteristic of any malware program is that it installs itself on a user's computer without the user realizing it is being installed. Most malware is unintentionally installed when users download freeware and shareware programs. The second characteristic of malware is that it provides computer users with no easy way for a user to uninstall the software.

Malware has no listing in the add/remove programs section of the control panel and often installs a "helper" program that monitors whether or not the main malware program has been deleted. If the malware is removed, the helper program re-downloads and reinstalls the application. A third characteristic of malware is its ability to track what you do on your computer.

Malware usually has two functions: to spread itself some way and to do some sort of trick or damage. This may vary from the trivial (such as displaying a silly message on startup) to causing serious damage to your files and your computer. With the increase of fast networks, and in particular home broadband, much malware is now intended to take control of your computer so that it can be used for nefarious purposes, e.g. Hosting illegal data, sending spam email or being used to attack others, possibly for extortion purposes (you are liable to hear the phrases 'zombie' or 'bot' used to describe these "taken over" computers). The damage may not happen as soon as you acquire the malware; some malware is written to be activated remotely when needed, or to be activated on particular dates or after a particular length of time, often so that it has time to spread before being noticed.

Malware spreads in many different ways. These include: email, where it can be sent as an attachment, usually with an innocent-seeming name; being embedded in web pages; scanning the network for computers with an exploitable vulnerability (often one that is not up-to-date with patches); on file-sharing/peer-to-peer networks; through messages to instant message clients; using an infected CD.

Malware is often poorly scripted; it may cause your computer to become terribly slow and unstable. If it is not removed quickly, this type of program can eventually cause your system to become inoperable. Most malware programs will reinstall themselves even after you think they have been removed. They typically hide deep within the windows registry, making them difficult to manually remove. Malware can be stopped by the right malware removal tools.