MALWARE Autumn Mattis

Overview What is malware? Where malware comes from Purpose of malware Adware vs. Spyware How malware spreads Types of malware Prevention of malware The future Conclusion

What is malware? Malicious software Designed to disrupt or deny operation, gather information that leads to loss of privacy A variety of forms of hostile, intrusive, or annoying software or program code Code scripts, active content, and other software

Where does malware come from? Bundled with other programs Installed from websites Reinstall themselves or hide deep within Windows Makes them very difficult to clean

Purpose of malware Malware has been designed to partially control the user’s computer for reasons such as: To subject the user to advertise To spread spam To track the user’s activity To commit fraud, such as identity theft

Adware vs. Spyware Adware Spyware Software that displays sponsored advertisements in a section of your browser window or as a pop-up box An unwanted piggyback program that usually downloads with other software you want to install from the Internet.

How malware spreads Trojan Horse Viruses Worm Malicious program that is disguised as useful and legitimate software Viruses Self-replicating program that spreads by inserting copies of itself into other documents Worm Self-replicating program, doesn’t need to be part of another program

Prevention of malware Anti-virus programs Anti-adware program Firewall

The Future Continue to be vulnerabilities Users will continue to become better educated and software will continue to mature and become less vulnerable There will still be attacks but things will slowly get better

Conclusion Malware is disruptive and can gather information that leads to loss of privacy There are many forms of malware There are steps that can be taken to prevent malware from being harmful

Bibliography http://arstechnica.com/security/news/2004/11/malware.ars http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-malware.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malware#Purposes http://cs.bham.ac.uk/~mdr/teaching/modules/security/lectures/Malware.pdf Technology In Action: 7th Edition