Malicious code is a real danger to modern systems. Most systems nowadays do not work in isolation; they are more likely to be connected to other systems and sometimes they can even be dependent on them. Therefore an attack on one of the systems in the network is a potential attacking attempt to any other systems, with which it is interacting. Therefore, it is inevitable for any networked or Internet-connected computers to deal with malicious code attacks at some point. Businesses lose billions of dollars each year because of malicious code attacks. Responding to the attack and restoring all the data on the computers is a time-consuming and expensive task. It is a much better practice to try preventing it through organizing and maintaining effective defenses. However, it is important to keep in mind that there is no one general solution that can help to prevent all the attacks. Attackers are constantly looking for new ways to take advantage of systems’ vulnerabilities and find new ones. That’s why organizations have to not only defend themselves against existing attack methods, but also try to predict and prevent new attacking techniques. It means that computer and network security is a never-ending challenge and expense.
Malicious code, also known as malware, installed on a computer provides an attacker with the control over this machine. Therefore, malware can be defined as “a set of instructions that run on your computer and make your system do something that an attacker wants to do”. It is more common to see malicious code to be implemented in binary executable files. However, it can be implemented in almost any computer language. Attackers have used a huge number of scripting languages, word processing macro languages and a h...
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...he Trojan horse, users should be familiar with all the programs that should normally run on their systems. Once there is an addition or alteration, it is easy to notice and investigate. Another technique that is often used by attackers involves using wrapping programs, that are combining both malicious and original code. Once run on the victim’s computer the program first installs malicious code, and then executes the original code.
Works Cited
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Nazario, Jose “Defense and Detection Strategies against Internet Worms”, Artech House Computer Security Library, 2004
Skoudis, Ed, Zeltser, Lenny “Malware: Fighting Malicious Code”, Prentice Hall, 2003
Zesheng Chen, Lixin Gao, Chuanyi Ji “On Effectiveness of Defense Systems Against Worms”
Gordon, Sarah. Studying the Psychology of Virus Writers and Hackers. March 2003. 30 September 2003. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/hackers/ whoare/psycho.html>
Source code is the lifeblood of all high tech software organizations. If it falls into the wrong hands, a company will very likely experience damagingly costly repercussions. As a result, most tech companies invest a relatively large chunk of their revenues into network security.
This paper aims to educate on the issue of malicious software(malware). According to a research done at the AV-Test Institute, over 220 thousand malicious programs are recorded on a daily basis as a result of malware. The malicious software or malware, according to the Bull Guard Security Centre, refers to computer programs that are created to interfere or destroy computers functioning, without the users consent. Malware can take the form of worms, viruses, Trojans and spyware threats that can interrupt any data systems safety and even lead to denial of access to information on such system.
As electronic commerce, online business-to-business operations, and global connectivity have become vital components of a successful business strategy, enterprises have adopted security processes and practices to protect information assets. But if you look at today's computing environments, system security is a horrible game of numbers: there are currently over 9,223 publicly released vulnerabilities covering known security holes in a massive range of applications from popular Operating Systems through to obscure and relatively unknown web applications. [01] Over 300 new vulnerabilities are being discovered and released each month. Most companies work diligently to maintain an efficient, effective security policy, implementing the latest products and services to prevent fraud, vandalism, sabotage, and denial of service attacks. But the fact is you have to patch every hole of your system, but an attacker need find only one to get into your environment. Whilst many organisations subscribe to major vendor's security alerts, these are just the tip of the security iceberg and even these are often ignored. For example, the patch for the Code Red worm was available some weeks before the worm was released. [02]
Computers are main technological features that allow criminals to step into unsuspecting victims lives. With a simple piggy-backing program hackers are able to track every keystroke made by the victim. One such program is called spyware, not to be confused with adware, which is often referred to interchangeably with spyware, but is potentially harmless (Louis 15). Spyware, hidden within downloaded software, implants itself deep within a computer’s hard drive, allowing it to track every move made by the user (Louis 16).
[7]Seth Kaplan, “How Antispam Software Works,” (Wired), [Online], (2003, April), http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.04/start.html?pg=6, (accessed March 22, 2014)
In today’s days malware is designated as a software which aims to disturb a computer with the consent or permission of the owner. This term “Malware” is used by computer professionals to describe a varied forms of destructive, annoying and intrusive software code. This word “Malware” is used to indicate all types of malware which include a true set of viruses.
In this globalized arena, with the proliferating computer users as well as computer networks, risks associated like Malware attacks are also multiplying. As the proverb
Melford, RJ 1993, 'Network security ', The Internal Auditor, vol. 50, no. 1, p. 18.
This is a form of malware that will hide itself inside of a legit program you may download like a games, movies, free antivirus programs. So watch out what you download as you may get something unwanted. Some of the big names in trojan horses are Sub7, Beast, Vundo, Koobface, zeus, and many more. The pupose of Zeus was to steal banking info with the use of key loggers that records all keys typed and can find passwords and usernames easily. Zeus was also the programs behind the Info leak of the United States Department of Transportation. This also had effects on NASA, Amazon, ABC, Bank of America and many other big companies. Best way to combat this is make sure to have your antivirus software running and up to date. Whatever it may be AVG, Avast. They will have their definitions updated all the time to combat all he newly created viruses. In recent time things have changed it’s less about bragging rights and more about monetary gain. Some of the means they use to do this is by creating a big network of bot computers that can be used for spamming or a DDOS (distributed denial of service) attack. They use viruses that encrypt commercial databases and use DDOS attacks and demand ransom for it to stop. (Nash) Reason for writing a Trojan horse. They can give a hacker remote access to your system. Can crash the computer with a blue screen of death. Reformat the hard drive, date or money theft. A scary one that was on the news a lot lately is accessing the infected webcam and demanding ransom to not be released publicly. The effects of a trojan horse is almost endless you can hide anything you want with
A cyber crime called 'Bot Networks', wherein spamsters and other perpetrators of cyber crimes remotely take control of computers without the users realizing it, is increasing at an alarming rate. Computers get linked to Bot Networks when users unknowingly download malicious codes such as Trojan horse sent as e-mail attachments. Such affected computers, known as zombies, can work together whenever the malicious code within them get activated, and those who are behind the Bot Networks attacks get the computing powers of thousands of systems at their disposal.
...ntial information from a user. Luckily, there are reliable ways of defending against them. The most reliable way is to install strong security software that has the capacity to defend against the multifaceted forms of threats. Avoiding P2P file sharing sites and scanning email attachments before downloading them are also a surefire way of protecting a computer against malware threats. Basic acts like using an updated browser and allowing Windows updates to install and update themselves are also necessary to keep a machine safe. Furthermore, checking validity of individual website addresses and installing authenticated software can also help a computer user remain safe from potential data theft and possible damage of useful programs. It may also pay good dividends to backup files. In case of a lethal malware attack, backed-up files can always be recovered easily.
The advantages of technology and the internet have led more criminals to use cyberspace to commit crimes. The threat of cybercrime is increasing as globalization continues to spread across the world. While the impact of globalization has led to amazing, new discoveries throughout the world, Internet connectivity has also made cybercrime easier. America and the rest of the world have become more reliant on technology and use it in more aspects of their lives, technology-users make themselves more vulnerable to cyber attacks. Globalization and the growing use of computers in the world have given people a motive to learn more about computing and become more knowledgeable as programmers. As these people learn more, there is a risk that they will use their new intelligence to commit cybercrimes.
...h the threat of “Mobile Malware” looming in the air, the desire to give the general public fair warning has never been greater. This paper was intended to provided that knowledge the general public needs and will reinforce the topic to those who were already aware. The history of malware gave you a look into the not so distant past. The discussion of technical examples of malware was intended to show you how rapidly the threat is developing along with the statistics of malware’s current expansion, and the future examples of malware and research showed you concepts that were unimaginable to the common electronic consumer. The majority of malware was originally designed to be a practical joke, but as we can see from the ever growing desire for malicious intent, the evolution of malware has followed suite. We can only hope that the growing need for security can be met.
In today’s society technology is used for everything. With the invention of computers and the internet this open doors to the cyber world. Today you can do almost anything without having to leave your home. The internet gives us the opportunity of shopping online, ordering food online, working from home and video chatting with friends and family across the world. Everyone has a computer and internet access in their homes. While the internet is really convenient it also opens doors for cybercrimes, loss of privacy and the need for computer security.