DSNX

A trojan is a program that is disguised as legitimate software but is designed to carry out some harmful actions on the infected computer.

Unlike viruses and worms, trojans don’t replicate but they can be just as destructive.

These days trojans are very common. Trojans are divided into a number different categories based on their function or type of damage.

Spyware is designed to gather data from a computer and transfer it to a third party without the consent or knowledge of the computer’s owner. This includes collecting confidential information (passwords, credit card numbers, PIN numbers, etc.), monitoring key strokes, gathering e-mail addresses, or tracking surfing habits. Such resource-consuming activities slow down the system and generally impact the computer’s performance.

“Spyware” is an umbrella term for a diverse group of malware-related programs, rather than a clear-cut category. Most spyware definitions apply not only to adware, pornware and ‘riskware’ programs, but to many trojans as well.

Of all trojans, backdoor trojans pose the greatest danger to users’ PCs because they give their authors remote control over infected computers. They are downloaded, installed, and run silently, without the user’s consent or knowledge. Upon installation, backdoor trojans can be instructed to send, receive, execute and delete files, gather and transfer confidential data from the computer, log all activity on the computer, and perform other harmful activities.

Remote Access Tool. A program that enables a hacker to remotely access and control other people’s computers. A RAT can serve a variety of malicious purposes, including hijacking and transferring private information, downloading files, running programs, and tampering with system settings.

A type of trojan. The primary purpose of downloaders is to install malicious code on a user’s computer. However, they can enable other malicious uses. For example, they can be used to continually download new versions of malicious code, adware, or “pornware.” They are also used frequently used to exploit the vulnerabilities of Internet Explorer.

Downloaders are typically written in script languages such as VBS or JavaScript.

Hacker tools are utilities designed to help hackers gain control of remote computers in order to use them as zombies (in DoS attacks, for example), download other malicious programs into those computers, or use them for other malicious purposes.