What Is Malware?
Let’s keep it simple. “Mal-“ is a pretty alarming prefix. Maltreatment, malpractice, malarkey…it’s kind of an alarming start to any word or phrase. Our point of focus in this blog, malware, isn’t any different.
Malware is precisely what it sounds like: malicious software. It’s a program or file intentionally engineered to harm your computer, network, website, server, database, etc. Typically, malware has one of three objectives: infecting your IT ecosystem to collect sensitive data, disrupting your company’s operations, or spying on your activity.
As spooky as malware sounds, it’s one of the easier cyberthreats to recognize when you know what to look for. Also, in most scenarios, malware requires human interaction to infect a system. So when you know how to recognize malware, you can easily avoid it.
In this article, we’ll break down everything you should and need to know about malware, including:
- How to recognize common forms of malware
- Typical signs that you might be infected with malware
- Seven common examples of malware
- How to protect yourself and your business from malware
How Do You Know If You Have Malware?
Unfortunately, if you’re online or connected to any kind of network, you risk encountering malware.
In most cases, malware needs some level of human interaction to be installed. Remember, at the end of the day, malware is just software, so if you’re on an internet-connected device, you need to download and install the malware for it to infect your system.
What Does Malware Look Like?
The people who want to hack their way into your devices know that you probably won’t click on a giant button that says “Download Malware Now” — instead, they try to trick you into thinking the software application you’re downloading is legitimate.
One of the biggest culprits is downloading something for “free” that shouldn’t be free—for example, illegally downloading streaming shows, pirated movies, and video games. In the same vein, “free” downloads that come from file-sharing sites.
Another trick malware hackers love to use is convincing you to click on an imposter link. These download links may appear as a webpage pop-up saying you’ve encountered a security threat or just a regular old ad on a website.
Finally, be wary of anything you download from your email inbox, including all attachments — phishing is one of the most dangerous tactics threat actors use to trick users into downloading malware. Learn more about the five places you should look for red flags in an email.
What Are Some Signs That Your Computer Has Malware?
Like comparing a cold to the flu, allergies, or a more severe illness, diagnosing a malware infection on symptoms alone can be tricky, and many types of computer viruses have overlapping symptoms.
If you’ve recently downloaded a suspicious file and you’re experiencing one or more of the following issues, malware may be the culprit:
- Frequent browser redirects
- Demands to pay a fee to access data or information (ransomware)
- Device battery is all of a sudden dying faster
- Can’t access important system applications and tools
- Computer won’t shut down
- Browser homepage is new and unfamiliar
- Lots of pop-up ads and notifications are displaying
- Strange posts and messages from friends on social media
- Unknown programs are showing up in your list of applications
- New applications and shortcuts appear on your desktop
- Computer is slow or crashes regularly
7 Common Examples of Malware
1. Virus
A computer virus is a type of malware that infects your system via download. Then, it injects code into a host program before replicating itself to infect other programs. Click here to learn more about the nine most common types of computer viruses.
2. Worm
Similar to a virus, a worm is created by downloading malware. However, where a virus needs a host program to infect and replicate itself, worms can move independently through a network to infect programs and carry out attacks.
3. Ransomware
Ransomware is a specific type of malware where a threat actor prevents you from accessing part or all of your system, then forces you to pay a fee to regain access. Check out our quick guide to ransomware.
4. Malicious Browser Extensions and Adware
According to Kaspersky, between January 2020 and June 2022, over 4.3 million unique users were attacked by adware hiding in browser extensions. Adware promises benefits like coupons and rewards but spams users with affiliate links and ads instead. Another type of malware hidden in browser extensions is designed to steal login information and payment credentials.
5. Trojan
A trojan gets its name from the famous trojan horse story, where the software looks like a legitimate program but is instead malware. Common examples of trojans include downloader trojans, backdoor trojans, and DDoS trojans.
6. Spyware
The scary part about spyware is that you can download it and not even know it’s running. Spyware is a type of malware that collects data or information from your system and forwards it to a threat actor.
7. Keylogger
Keylogger malware hunts down personal information by recording your keystrokes and forwarding the data to a threat actor. In addition to malware, keyloggers can be hidden in hardware, like a USB storage device or keyboard.
How Do You Protect Yourself From Malware?
Our advice is to follow a multilayered or “defense-in-depth” strategy regarding cybersecurity. You need the technology to help prevent, identify, and respond to cyberthreats—think firewalls, endpoint detection and response, and DNS filtering; people and processes to intervene when a cyberthreat occurs; and the education to ensure you know how to recognize and respond to different types of cyberthreats.
After all, most cyberattacks occur when a human initiates the response—for example, accidentally downloading malware instead of the latest episode of your favorite streaming show.
For organizations, the ideal solution will depend on your size, industry, and budget, to name a few. We recommend downloading our Essential Business Guide to Cybersecurity to get started.
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