Malware, aka "malicious software", are nefarious programs created by cybercriminals designed to somehow violate your privacy, or cause you damage or other hassle.
There are at least nine major categories of malware:
- Spyware — spies on your to steal your sensitive information
- Ransomware — blocks access to your files then extorts money from you
- Viruses — infects your files and/or programs
- Worms — infects the system files
- Trojan horses — misrepresents itself to appear useful
- Adware — forces advertising on you
- Rootkits — lurks watching and collecting your activities
- Keyloggers — records and transmits everything you type on your keyboard
- Grayware — unwanted apps and files that typically worsen performance
“Zero-day” malware means it’s been discovered, but there are currently no known ways to detect it, or protect you from it. All malware starts out as “zero-day.”
Best practices for protecting yourself against all malware:
- be careful about what email attachments you open
- never visit suspicious websites
- install, run, and maintain a quality antivirus program
- never run your computer day-to-day with “administrator” privileges
Almost all antivirus software is known as “signature-based” which means it uses a list of known characteristics to recognize malware. Many add “Heuristic Analysis” methods which are proprietary dynamic techniques that help spot new/unknown malware.
Check out this article about Zero-day malware on SecurityIntelligence.com:
