These terms are used so frequently in today’s technology that sometimes they get all rolled up into one, and are often believed to be the same thing. Unfortunately to Technical Support Specialists it’s not that simple. An immeasurable amount of patience and multitude of tools are needed to fight this never ending battle. The end user only knows that their computer either isn’t working, is super slow, or that perhaps all of their icons are missing.
The types of infectious programs are so numerous that it seems impossible to keep up. Fortunately there are some decent human beings out there that use their time to undo the chaos that others attempt to create. These outstanding individuals are the unsung heroes in a war against cyber anarchy, but their efforts are definitely appreciated in the technical support realm.
So what is the difference? Why all these different names for things that just seems to cause problems for technology. The answer is as complicated as the removal process, but can be simplified by categorizing what they are designed to do.
Please pass the milk. It’s time for Cookies…
A “Cookie” is a term often heard in the technology world, but what they do is a mystery to most users. The name by itself sounds harmless. Who doesn’t like to eat them, or love the furry blue monster that can’t get enough of them? The good news is that for the most part they are harmless, and were designed to make things easier for you during your adventures on the web.
A Cookie is a file that is written to your hard drive that contains information about your visit to a particular web site. The purpose is so that when you visit the same website later, some prefilled information about who you are and your preferred activities can be used by the site. It also will contain information of how the site itself should be viewed. An example of how a Cookie works is when you revisit a site and notice advertisements that refer to the same types of products you’ve looked at or purchased on previous visits. That happens because a Cookie captured your activity and stored it for the site to use on your next visit.
The Cookie is not malicious in nature but unfortunately there are plenty of issues with it. There are times when a user will visit a site and the site takes an exceptionally long time to load. This typically is because the Cookie (file) has become corrupted. Cookie corruption can also be responsible for login issues with online accounts. Most of the time, the issue can be quickly resolved by clearing the computers temporary internet files. I wish I could tell you those problems are the worst part about Cookies but no such luck, but you’ll find out more about that as you read.
Malware
Malware is the short name for Malicious Software, and is the overall category for all software that will affect your computer in a malicious manner. It consists of all types of computer viruses, worms, Trojan horses, spyware, adware, and rootkits.
Computer Virus
A Computer Virus is a program that can replicate itself to multiple computers. It is malicious in nature and it is used to wreak havoc on your computer by modifying its programing, even to the point of disabling it.
Worms
A Worm is Virus that is typically is used to take over resources of unsuspecting victim computer by exploiting the security vulnerabilities of an operating system. It then uses system resources for its own agenda. A good example is a “Mailing Worm.” This Worm sends out email spam across the web and is extremely difficult to track back to the creator. But the Worm is very intelligent because it is an independent application, and replicates itself as much as it can throughout a network. It has been known to chew up valuable network bandwidth (speed) as it goes along. It has also been known to eat (delete) files as it wiggles its way through the network going from one computer to the next.
Trojan Horses
A Trojan Horse, just like in Greek mythology, uses something that appears to be harmless in order for the end user to allow it access to resources. This usually happens when the user downloads a program that they believe is useful and the Trojan is attached. Using “Social Engineering” the Trojan attempts to manipulate the end user in believing that everything is safe, but in reality the user is opening the gates for a silent attack from hackers. Once the Trojan is installed the hacker is able to use the victims computer as an internet filter (Proxy) to hide their true location. The Trojan is also used for remote screen viewing, electronic money and data theft. The Horse also needs to be fed, so it eats some of those Cookies we talked about earlier. It takes the Cookies and sends them back to the Hackers that created them.
Spyware
Originally designed for espionage it is currently being used to gather information about people’s habits and other personal information. It spends most of it time collecting the users information and utilizing resources on the computer on which it resides with tools like keyloggers. Detection usually only takes place when it causes overall performance issues with the computer. Oh, and Spyware loves to eat Cookies too.
Adware
Adware is the short term for Advertisement Software. It commonly comes in the form of browser redirects. Basically you try to go to one site and a different one come up. Also a Cookie eating fanatic, it uses this information to push the end user to a specific site to entice purchasing of products.
RootKit
A Rootkit is a Virus that takes over your computer with administrative privileges. It is extremely malicious in nature, and is very stealthy. Similar to spyware it gathers sensitive information about the user, but can also be used for sabotage – by allowing backdoor access to an unsuspecting victim’s computer. Detection of a Rootkit is very difficult because it can disguise itself as important system resources, or other significant files within an operating system. Since a Rootkit has administrative privileges it can modify any program on the computer, including the antivirus software used to detect it.
Now that you have a better understanding of all of this stuff, you probably wish that you didn’t. Just remember, knowledge is power. By understanding the types of infection your computer may get, you can be more alert to the symptoms of infection and act more quickly to minimize the damage.
Plus, try to remember those unsung heroes of the web. You can also find some comfort in knowing that you have an IT Specialist on your side that has already fought this battle several times, won, and is ready for another round.
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