All You Need to Know About Malware and How to Protect your Business from it

The popular misconception is that malware is a particular type of virus. The truth is that malware is a collection of malicious software which exists to destroy, disrupt, or misappropriate data, files, and computer systems. Therefore, there are different types of malware. You must know them to protect your business effectively.

The most common types of malware

Malware can be divided into three primary categories, contagious malware, concealment malware, and secret-stealing malware. 

Contagious malware: Contagious malware can also be identified as self-spreading malware, and true to its name, its chief characteristic is that it can quickly spread through a computer network. The spreading can happen through physical connections like ethernet cables, file transfer flash disks, and USB cables. On the other hand, they can also spread through wireless connections like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or over the internet by sending files through email. Contagious malware includes viruses and worms. 

> Viruses: – Computer viruses usually hide inside files and software and spread when the files are shared in any way. Their top characteristic is that they cannot spread on their own unless the user interacts with the software of the files. 

> Worms: – Unlike viruses, worms can spread independently by following the same routes that regular files take. They will also spread when files are shared through emails and instant messaging apps or automatically download themselves when the user clicks on a malicious link. 

Concealment malware: Unlike contagious malware, concealment malware does not cause any harm to a computer system. Instead, it’s designed to hide the presence of other malware like viruses and worms. The primary goal of concealment malware is to help contagious malware stay undetected. Trojans and rootkits are the primary examples of concealment malware. 

> Trojans: – This malware’s their name from the ancient Trojan horse that carried soldiers into Troy. A Trojan looks like a harmless program or file but contains viruses or worms inside. 

> Rootkits: – Rootkits are meant to make malicious code and programs invisible to a computer’s defence. They do this by concealing the malicious code’s traces in a computer, making it nearly impossible to identify. 

Secret-stealing malware: Secret-stealing malware does what their name suggests, steal information. They are designed to stay with a computer system undetected to keep stealing information. Spyware/Keyloggers and Ransomware are the primary secret-stealing malware. 

> Spyware/Keyloggers: – Spyware is created to spy on a computer system and access personal and sensitive data like financial information. Most of the time, the stolen data is used for financial fraud or identity theft. On the other hand, keyloggers recover keyboard press. Thus, they can be used to steal usernames and passwords for easy access to computer systems. 

> Ransomware: – This malware encrypts sensitive data and holds it hostage for a ransom. It can also keep hostage computer networks, denying legitimate users access to their computers.