Trojans, Worms, Rootkits, Explained Simply
A lot of people will get bogged down with the terminology of viruses and spy-ware etc. Even IT personal speak of worms, Trojans, rootkits and viruses very loosely. Most people will grasp and understand much better if they understand the simple concepts.
Also another area to get out the way is the difference between viruses and spy-ware. The simplest and easiest view is that spy-ware is out for commercial gain and viruses are out to vandalize.
A computer virus is self copying code that will try to do damage to your machine, without your consent and spy-ware will in fact want your machine to perform, but with their code watching or manipulating.
For starters a worm is not technically a virus and neither is a Trojan. Where people get tangled is they see the likes of worms and Trojans as viruses, when in fact they are concepts of how actual viruses or spy-ware enter your computer etc.
Take for example your USB stick; you leave it in the computer in some Internet Café etc. Some one gets access to it and leaves some sort of auto-start program on it. You then come back to the café hoping to get your stick. You take it home and put it in your own machine. Your USB is now a Trojan and not a virus or spy-ware; it is what is in it that is the problem.
What in fact a worm does is exploit an access technology on your computer usually RPC (remote procedural Call). The worm will find you if it is looking for your IP address (a unique id of your computer) and if your computer is susceptible to its search. But remember this is not the virus or spy ware. The problem arises when it knows you’re susceptible and then it can send or drop (payload), the exploit code to your machine. In fact some worms could be termed Trojans just think of the concept.
Then you have the root-kit. Take the name and think “root’ being root access to your machine and “kit” kit meaning multiple parts or code. The rootkit is there to manipulate your operating system into accepting a virus of spy-ware, so when Anti-Viruses try to find them they can’t because they actually think they are part of the operating system.
Putting a scenario into a paragraph is good way to grasp the concepts as a whole. Some person sends out a worm from their computer scanning for random IP addresses. Your address is found and you are susceptible. The worm spots your susceptible, so that person can now upload code to your computer. While you are vulnerable they upload a rootkit. This then manipulates your operating system to identify their spy-ware as a system file. Then they upload the spy-ware into your computer and it is programmed to execute every time you access the internet.
Now take the same scenario and start it using a USB stick, a CD, a program you have downloaded or even a website you have accessed. The next time an IT expert tries to blind you with science, think concept and you might surprise them.
Trojans, Worms, Rootkits, More:
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