Examples Of Malware

What are Some Examples of Malware?

Ransomware is designed to essentially hold your system hostage until you meet the hacker's demands. A popular version of ransomware currently circulating is known as CryptoWall, which infects a victim's machine and encrypts its data. The hacker alerts the victim that their files have been encrypted and directs the victim to pay a ransom by a certain date, otherwise the key necessary to decrypt the files will be destroyed.
Ghosts: No, we aren't talking about the ghosts you'll see on Halloween. In the cyber world we have Gh0st, an infamous piece of malware that is commonly used by threat actors to remotely access a target and assume complete control. Some versions of Gh0st have the ability to activate the camera and audio-recording functions of the infected machine if the machine has those features.
Zombies: Unlike the make-believe zombies you see in the movies, cyber zombies are real. In the online world, a zombie is a machine compromised with malware and controlled by a hacker. Zombies can send spam, launch denial-of-service attacks and infect other machines, becoming part of a large group of compromised computers being controlled remotely (known as botnets).
Mutations: This malware (known as polymorphic malware) morphs its code to constantly change its form. This mutating process keeps the malware from being detected by pattern-matching analysis tools.
Frankenstein: Continuing along the lines of the mutating software, the Frankenstein malware takes small pieces of software from trusted programs and stitches them together, making the resulting malware undetectable.

How Does Malware Get on Your Machine?

Tricks-n-Treats: Social engineering continues to be the path of least resistance to your data. These "tricks" often rely on establishing trust by purporting to be sourced from an individual or company you know and trust. The cyber criminal then tries to entice you into viewing the "treat," whether it's a celebrity photo, the promise of a cash prize or some other lure. Phishing email messages have evolved from being full of easy-to-spot grammatical or spelling errors to appearing very credible, with a look and feel that closely matches a legitimate organization.
Poison: Hackers looking to target your machine know how to poison search results to get you to click on a site that hosts malware. Cyber criminals can sometimes deface legitimate websites by adding content that is designed to rank highly in search results, knowing the first returned sites are more likely to be clicked on directly.

How Can You Minimize Your Risk? Avoid the tricks by being aware of the tactics:

Do not respond to unsolicited emails or telephone calls from an unknown or untrusted source. Verify the identity of an individual claiming to represent an organization by contacting the organization directly.
Be especially wary of emails that ask you to verify your information or provide sensitive information. Do not open attachments contained in a suspicious email.
Keep the software on your computers and devices up to date through regular patching. Use automatic update settings on your security software, operating system, and web browser.
Only install third-party applications from trusted sources.
Discuss security awareness best practices with your family, friends, colleagues and community.

*Article by MS Dept. of Information Technology Services

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