Malware is software designed to infiltrate or damage a computer system without the owner's informed consent. The expression is a general term used to mean a variety of forms of hostile, intrusive, or annoying software or program code.
Software is considered malware based on the perceived intent of the creator rather than any particular features. It includes computer viruses, worms, trojan horses, spyware, dishonest adware, and other malicious and unwanted software.
Since the rise of widespread broadband Internet access, more malicious software has been designed for a profit motive. For instance, since 2003, the majority of widespread viruses and worms have been designed to take control of users' computers for black-market exploitation. Infected "zombie computers" are used to send email spam, to host contraband data such as child pornography, or to engage in distributed denial-of-service attacks as a form of extortion.
Another strictly for-profit category of malware has emerged in spyware : programs designed to monitor users' web browsing, display unsolicited advertisements, or redirect affiliate marketing revenues to the spyware creator. Spyware programs do not spread like viruses; they are generally installed by exploiting security holes or are packaged with user-installed software.
How do users get malware?
- They download apps that include adware and spyware
- They click on misleading popups or banners
- They visit sites that use exploits to inject malware
- Many users still don’t patch or don’t use antivirus or antispyware
Why doesn’t antivirus and antispyware stop malware?
- They are dependent on signatures
- Malware directly attacks it
- Malware authors are specifically testing their Trojans and viruses to make sure they can bypass antivirus and antispyware applications before releasing them in the WWWeb
