As their name suggests, malware is malicious software designed to harm computer systems and networks. Today, the concepts of malware and badware are used interchangeably, while there are differences between the two. Next, we will explain about malware and badware and types of malware. Stay with us until the end of this tutorial.
What is malware?
Malwares are softwares that are installed on the computer without the user’s knowledge and follow specific purposes. Another name for such malicious software is Malware, which can include viruses, trojans, botnets, rootkits, spyware, etc.
Each type of malware pursues a specific goal, in general, the goals of malware can be categorized as follows:
Of course, it should also be taken into account that some malware does not perform any destructive operations on the user’s computer and only monitors the user. For example, consider browser cookies that help you make your online purchases more easily. Cookies and browser caches send all items you have purchased online to the manufacturer and the manufacturer sells them to related companies. After that, you will be faced with a large amount of advertisements, without knowing where they come from.
Getting to know the concepts of malware and badware
While malware is a general term that includes all types of malicious code, including viruses and trojans, badware is not necessarily software designed to destroy systems. In fact, it is often used to collect user information for various purposes. Of course, this type of malware can be used by cybercriminals to hack or to attack user information.
Types of malware
Malware can be categorized in different ways. One of these methods is the classification of malware based on the way the malicious software is distributed. Based on this, malware is divided into three categories: Trojans, worms and viruses:
- Worm: A worm is an independent part of malicious software. It reproduces itself and spreads from computer to computer.
- Trojan: Trojan is a program that cannot generate itself but presents itself as something the user wants to trick him. Hence, the tricked user activates it and as a result the Trojan spreads.
- Virus: A virus is a piece of computer code that inserts itself into the code of another independent program, then forces that program to perform malicious actions and spread itself.
But there is another way to categorize malware. This method categorizes malware based on their success in infecting the victim’s device:
- Spyware: This malware is used to secretly collect data from a trusted user. This software is actually spying with the purpose of sending a user’s information to a third party. One of the most famous of these malwares is Keylogger, which records all the user’s keystrokes on the keyboard. This is a great way to steal passwords.
- Rootkit: A rootkit is one or a set of programs that allows remote access and control of a computer or other system.
- Adware: Adware forces your browser to redirect to web advertisements. These malwares are usually found in games or free plugins.
- Ransomware: In this malware, your hard disk files are encrypted and you are asked for money in exchange for the decryption key. Without access to this decryption key, it is mathematically impossible for victims to access their files.
- Cryptojacking: In this malware, attackers use your computer to mine bitcoins without your knowledge. Bitcoin mining malware can infect your computer and take advantage of your CPU cycles to mine bitcoins.
- Malvertising: This term refers to the way in which malware is secretly sent to users’ computers through legitimate advertisements or ad networks. For example, posting an ad by a criminal on a legitimate website.
How to know if a website contains malware?
If there is no clear warning and if the site administrators themselves do not know that their website is compromised, how do you know that a site is infected? The answer to this question is divided into the following:
- When visiting a website through a standard browser, you will receive a message that visiting the site may be dangerous. The sentences of these messages are different from each other, but they all convey the same content. Most browsers allow you to continue visiting the website at your own risk.
- If you own a website and have a Google account, you’ll receive notifications about potential malware on your website.
- You will notice changes in the file.
- When searching for a website or a specific url, you may experience unwanted redirection.
- In some cases, you can see new users in your webmaster dashboard. In other cases, users’ permissions may have changed.
Among all the mentioned signs, the first one is the most definitive method. Don’t forget to keep your browser updated to the latest version to receive such messages.
Malware prevention methods
Before taking any action to prevent malware, it is necessary to identify it. After knowing the malwares, you can use the following methods to prevent them:
- Always keep your software up to date! Using the latest version of any software makes hacker penetration, content manipulation, information theft, and the like almost impossible.
- Use caution when deciding to install third-party scripts and plugins.
- Uninstall or disable unnecessary apps that you no longer use.
- Check the files, folders and permissions of the web server carefully.
- Use a strong password.
- Be careful when surfing the web, use big and reliable websites more than small websites.
- Have an ad-blocker. You can’t detect bad ads on your own, it’s better to avoid getting infected by using a reliable ad blocker.
Examples of malware
To get a clearer picture of malware, let’s look at some famous examples of malware attacks:
- In the 1960s, when hackers created computer viruses mainly for fun and displayed usually harmless messages, these viruses also spread to computers. The first example of these viruses was the Vienna virus, which corrupted data and destroyed files. After the creation of this virus, the first anti-virus program in the world was created.
- During the outbreak of the Corona virus in 2020, many cybercriminals took advantage of people’s fear and anxiety about the Coronavirus for fraud in this field. These scams include impersonating the World Health Organization, offering fake telecommuting jobs, using fake communications to deploy malware, and stealing personal information, among other methods.
What to do if your website is infected with malware?
In this case, it is necessary to take your website offline so that it does not affect any user. If you have a backup of your website, check it for malware, then you can upload it.
Don’t forget that Google, Bing and other major search engines will send a warning or even blacklist your website if they find that your website is compromised. Consequently, you should take these warnings seriously and take action to fix them.
last word
Keep in mind that malware and badware can be a concern for businesses and users. As a result, you should be aware of the points we mentioned in this article about malware and how to prevent them. If you have any questions about , be sure to share them with us in the comments section