COMPUTER THREATS 16 MALWARE, ADWARE, SPAM AND BUGS Answer these questions. a. Has a virus ever damaged your computer? What happened? b. Does any of you know any malware for mobile phones? annoying: fastidioso disguised as: sotto forma di due to: dovuto a endless: infinito flaw: difetto outright: assolutamente to spread: diffondere threat: minaccia trait: tratto to undermine: indebolire, danneggiare unsolicited: non richiesto, indesiderato whack-a-mole: acchiappa la talpa (gioco arcade) The term malware was first used by computer scientist and security researcher, Yisrael Radai in 1990. However, the first example of malware was the Creeper virus in 1971. Malware, short form for malicious software, refers to a variety of malicious programs that can be used to compromise computer functions, steal data, bypass access controls and monitor users activity, and even damage hardware. Malware can be classified into the following broad categories: malicious programs, which compromise computer functions, damage or destroy data, damage hardware or facilitate malicious attacks crimeware, which are programs to steal money or sensitive data mobile malware, which are specific threats for mobile devices network threats, which are attacks carried out to affect data transmission or intercept data. Malware authors can use a variety of means to spread malware and infect devices and networks. Malicious programs can be delivered physically to a system through a USB drive or other storage devices, spread via the Internet through downloads from websites without users approval or knowledge, through emails disguised as legitimate messages which contain malicious links, or through attachments that contain executable malware. Sophisticated malware attacks often have a link with a server controlled by a hacker which can communicate with the infected system, take sensitive data and control and compromise the device or server remotely. Adware, or advertising-supported software, is another type of program that shares common traits with malware, although it is distinctly different. Adware can be annoying for the users because these programs automatically deliver unwanted adverts and can degrade the performance of the device or system. However, adware does not generally have any malicious intent to harm users or their systems, in fact it is used to help recover development costs for the software developer and reduce or eliminate the cost for the user. Only in some cases it can contain harmful threats or spyware-like features that collect information without the user s knowledge or consent. Spam, or junk mail or junk newsgroup posting, is the electronic sending of mass unsolicited messages, especially emails. It is not proper malware, but a medium through which malware can spread. It is generally email advertising sent to a mailing list or newsgroup. Spam is a problem because, apart from wasting people s time with unwanted email, it consumes a lot of bandwidth. Unfortunately, as the Internet is public, there is not much that can be done to prevent spam. A bug is a flaw in a program or source code due to human error. Security bugs are dangerous because they can allow hackers to bypass user authentication and steal data. Moreover, bugs can also be dangerous for host computers. 252 Module 6 FLOWCHARTING