What You Should Know About the Trojan Malware
Obtaining a certification in IT is necessary to expand your horizon and unlock more opportunities for your career. It makes you more qualified to take on more challenging and lucrative roles in the industry.
Taking a CompTIA A+ Certification practice test in preparation for the actual exam? Then you might need to brush up on your knowledge of malware, such as the Trojan. A Trojan is capable of hiding in seemingly safe computer programs to try and trick users into installing it.
What Exactly Does a Trojan Do?
Trojans don’t replicate, but they sit quietly in the background, gathering pertinent user data and/or weakening the infected system’s security defenses. They could even take over the compromised computer system completely and lock out the user. Most Trojans are developed to look like a legitimate app or file, such as a game or song, to trick users into downloading them.
This tactic is known as social engineering since the malicious users developed a certain situation that would increase the chances of the users acting against their interest. Many unscrupulous people use Trojans for their illegal activities because they’re extremely versatile and have the ability to operate undetected. The following are the most common tasks that Trojans could execute:
- Spying – Most Trojans are basically spyware developed to lurk in the background of the compromised machine and wait until the user accesses his online accounts or key in personally identifiable information, passwords, as well as bank account/credit card information. The virus then sends these details to their master.
- Building Backdoors – Some Trojans modify the security settings of the compromised system so that hackers or other malware could access it.
- Turning Compromised Computer Systems into Slaves – In some cases, hackers just want to mess with other people’s computer systems and control them.
- Sending Expensive SMS Messages – Nowadays, even mobile phones could get infected with Trojans. When this happens, the hackers would mainly use the phone for sending SMS messages to expensive, premium numbers.
The best way to prevent getting infected by a Trojan is to have updated antivirus software installed on the computer system. Users should likewise refrain from downloading programs or files from malicious sources and scan downloaded items with the antivirus software prior to installing and opening them. If you’re an IT professional, installing antivirus and removing Trojans are among your basic tasks.
