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What is a malware?

Know what malware is and its types that you could face


If you use specific computers and programs, you will already know about computer viruses or Trojans that infect our computer or cell phone . Perhaps we have seen the word ransomware that translates to data theft or spyware to refer to espionage. Whatever term we have known, it will always be malware. There are different types, here we explain in detail.

The concept of malware is born from the word "malicious" and "software", which refer to "malicious software", that is, any software or program that is designed to be harmful or malicious. The damage or impact can vary depending on the type of malware and its objective, so we need to classify them.

There are several classifications and they have differences. We explain the best known:

Adware


Its aim is to show ads to try to trick you into installing some other software or otherwise to steal information from you using deceptive forms and sites.

Spyware


Its purpose is to monitor the activities of a device and send a report of them. It is a silent malware that runs without user authorization.

Virus


It is usually attached to another program or file, when it is run, it is opened, then the virus is activated and the virus begins to replicate to other files or programs to stay alive on the computer. Its objective is to delete or destroy information.

Worms


They are similar to viruses, they seek to replicate to stay alive, the difference with a virus is that the worm seeks to spread through a network to infect other computers and does not need to be attached to a file or program to spread. Your goal to destroy information.

Trojans


They pose as another program to deceive the user in order to be installed to confuse. Its objective is for it to be used as a means of infection and other threats such as viruses, worms, spyware, ransomware, keyloggers or rootkits.

Ransomware


It retains information, also blocks user access to the device, encrypts files and then requests a ransom for this information.

Rootkit


It is similar to spyware, in addition to monitoring and reporting user actions, it also allows you to take control of the computer or cell phone.

Keylogger


This records everything that the person types generally to share it with the attacker. It is a technique to acquire data such as usernames and passwords.

Exploits


This type of malware takes advantage of errors or bugs in the code of other software. If a program has an error in how it was programmed, an attacker can create another program (exploit) that exploits the vulnerability to cause damage.