Malware, Spyware & Adware

Table of Contents Introduction Malware Types of Malware Malware Development Life Cycle Spyware How do we get Spyware How Spyware operates Spyware effects Man In Middle attack Counter-Measures Anti-Malware Techniques Bibliography Introduction: From the early days of cracking passwords and stealing information from personal computers, to deadly Internet based attacks that can shake entire’s nation security, cyber crimes have evolved from the endeavors of entertainment by cyber kiddies to organized crimes and terrorist activities of cyber mafia. Virus Attacks, hacking, browser hijacks, spam, phishing and so on are various manifestations of malicious activities that have evolved on the internet in last couple of decades. Malware is one such tool that has emerged as a widely preferred choice to consummate criminal activities on the Internet. Malware is new genre of hostile software, written in a high level language. Normally they target technical vulnerabilities in the system. Spyware, adware, Trojans, virus, worms are very common form of Malware prevalent on the Internet. It propagates through emails, IM and other web services. It can be categorized into criminal and business malware. Criminal malware is used in cyber terrorism and vandalism; while business malware is used for business/monetary benefits. Spyware is a software program that collects personal information of the users without their formal consent. Unlike viruses and worms, spyware does not usually self replicate, or intrude into the system directly or spread from one system to another; instead, it intrudes into a system by deceiving the user or exploiting software vulnerabilities in a system. Once it gets into the system, its implications can range from disturbing to devastating. It propagates using personalization cookies, tracking cookies, Trojans, drive-by downloads, hacking and piggybacking. Malware: Along with viruses, malware is the biggest threat

Bibliography: - SPYWARE, An Insight Edited by Ravi Kumar Jain MALWARE, An Introduction by Ravi Kumar Jain Malware Development Life Cycle by Raymond Roberts www.spywareguide.com en.wikipedia.org/wiki/spyware Cryptography and Network Security by William Stallings Webopedia.com