A Brief Look at Malware Types

Malware Types

Logic Bomb:

A logic bomb is code which consists of two parts:

1- A pay load, which is an action to perform. The payload can be anything, but has the connotation of having a malicious effect.

2- A trigger, a boolean condition that is evaluated and controls when the payload is executed. The exact trigger condition is limited only by the imagination, and could be based on local conditions like the date, the user logged in, or the operating system version. Triggers could also be designed to be set off remotely, or - like the "dead man's switch" on a train - be set off by the absence of an event.

Trojan Horse a Trojan horse is 'a program which purports to do some benign task, but secretly performs some additional malicious task.'[1] A classic example is a password-grabbing login program which prints authentic-looking "username" and "password" prompts, and waits for a user to type in the information. When this happens, the password grabber stashes the information away for its creator, then prints out an "invalid password" message before running the real login program. The unsuspecting user thinks they made a typing mistake and reenters the information, none the wiser.

Back Door

A back door is 'any mechanism which bypasses a normal security check'[1]. Programmers sometimes create back doors for legitimate reasons, such as skipping a time-consuming authentication process when debugging a network server.

Virus

A virus is 'malware that, 'when executed, tries to replicate itself into other executable code; when it succeeds, the code is said to be infected?' [1] The infected code, when run, can infect new code in turn. This self-replication into existing executable code is the key defining characteristic of a virus.

Worm

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4- Software license keys, to facilitate software pirating.

Adware

Adware ' has similarities to spyware in that both are gathering information about the user and their habits.'[1] Adware is more marketing-focused, and may pop up advertisements or redirect a user's web browser to certain web sites in the hopes of making a sale. Some adware will attempt to target the advertisement to fit the context of what the user is doing.

Hybrids, Droppers, and Blended Threats

Zombies

Computers that have been compromised can be used by an attacker for a variety of tasks, unbeknownst to the legitimate owner; computers used in this way are called zombies. The most common tasks for zombies are sending spam and participating in coordinated, large-scale denial-of-service attacks.

References:

Aycock,J.(2006).Computer Viruses and Malware . University of Calgary, CANADA.