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Crouching Trojan, Hidden Malware
by Joel Walsh
http://www.upmarketcontent.com
Crouching Trojan, Hidden Malware
by Joel Walsh
Trojans are not just more dangerous than computer viruses,
they're stealthier, too. Find out where they hide.
Minions of an evil master lurk in your hard drive,
crouching in your system registry, ready to pounce.
What Is a Trojan?
The word "Trojan" is a mystery to most people, even many
who think they know its true meaning. If more people
really understood what Trojans are and the risk they pose,
there would be fewer Trojans, since fewer people would ever
leave their machines vulnerable to them.
A Trojan is malware. Malware is a special kind of
software, like spyware, adware, and viruses that no one
wants. Yet a Trojan is more dangerous than any other kind
of malware. Unlike those other types of malware, Trojans
are not mindless flunkies hurled at your computer by their
masters. A Trojan is a master that first craftily
infiltrates your PC, then unleashes its malware henchman.
What Trojans Do
~~Some Trojans may install worms, which are programs
that use your computer and internet connection to send out
armies of server requests in the hope of shutting a
particular website down, or to spread viruses or worms to
other computers.
~~Other Trojans are thieves, out to steal your
computer's processing power and turn it over to their
hacker masters, often by setting up a backdoor, a hidden
internet connection that allows for outside manipulation of
your machine.
~~Some thieving Trojans are fraudsters that may go
after your financial information by installing keyloggers
that record what you type--especially passwords and
important banking numbers.
How Do Trojans Hide?
No one thinks they have a Trojan on their computer until it
is too late. That's because they do such a good job of
blending in.
~~Trojans come disguised in innocuous file names,
often pretending to be a helper application to software or
an essential operating system component.
~~Trojans try to avoid calling attention to
themselves, and so will often only interfere a little, if
at all, with your computer's performance, choosing instead
to do their dirty work while your machine is idle.
Computers left on and connected to the internet while their
owners are asleep or at work or school are favorite targets.
How Do You Remove Trojans?
Removing Trojans can be a can of worms. Here's why you
need to proceed with caution:
~~Since Trojans can disguise themselves as software
your computer actually needs, you could accidentally delete
a vital program or system registry entry. In the worst
case scenario, you won't be able to restart your computer.
~~Many Trojans are trained for survival. When you
try to removal them manually, they may simply copy
themselves to another directory.
Intimidated? You don't have to be. Rather than trying to
defuse a Trojan yourself, why not call in the bomb squad?
Good anti-spyware and antivirus software will fight
Trojans, too. Just make sure to look for a program that
specifically says it fights Trojans. After all, this is no
job for amateurs.
About the author: Joel Walsh writes for http://www.spyware-
refuge.com about spyware removal: http://www.spyware-
refuge.com/spyware-removal.html?%20spyware%20removal
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