Malware and Its Effects on Privacy and Security
MALWARE AND ITS EFFECTS ON COMPUTER PRIVACY AND SECURITY
The Internet is a system of interconnected networks able to continually amplify its range of sites surpassing its predecessor, the ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency) which was developed by the American military in the 60’s (Abbate, 2000). It has progressed, with the social and economic aspect of its use becoming complex, with illegal activities reaching even the depths of cyberspace – “cybercrime” and the culprits, the “cybercriminals”, have appeared. One cybercrime is malware writing. From mere pranks and the need to establish a reputation among adolescents at school or at work, the goal of malware writing has then changed into the goal of acquiring large sums of money in short time spans, i.e. organized crime and terrorist groups through extortion and the like, and the realization of companies of efficient strategies for advertising scam products (Bocij, 2006) or for harmless purposes like marketing statistics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malware). The malware writer creates malware which destroys data and locates and sends back sensitive information. With most people likely to be infected, malware have become one of the most common online security risks causing adverse effects on computer privacy and security. The aim of this report is to discuss malware, its most common variations, its effects on computer privacy and security, and those who are most likely at risk of malware infection.
Malware, derived from the term “malicious software”, is a term used to associate all software applications that cause damage or destruction to systems, computers, networks, and the like (Brown, 2011). The most common kinds of malware are spyware, adware, virus, and spam.
The spyware is a type of malware installed on computers designed to discretely
The Internet is a system of interconnected networks able to continually amplify its range of sites surpassing its predecessor, the ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency) which was developed by the American military in the 60’s (Abbate, 2000). It has progressed, with the social and economic aspect of its use becoming complex, with illegal activities reaching even the depths of cyberspace – “cybercrime” and the culprits, the “cybercriminals”, have appeared. One cybercrime is malware writing. From mere pranks and the need to establish a reputation among adolescents at school or at work, the goal of malware writing has then changed into the goal of acquiring large sums of money in short time spans, i.e. organized crime and terrorist groups through extortion and the like, and the realization of companies of efficient strategies for advertising scam products (Bocij, 2006) or for harmless purposes like marketing statistics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malware). The malware writer creates malware which destroys data and locates and sends back sensitive information. With most people likely to be infected, malware have become one of the most common online security risks causing adverse effects on computer privacy and security. The aim of this report is to discuss malware, its most common variations, its effects on computer privacy and security, and those who are most likely at risk of malware infection.
Malware, derived from the term “malicious software”, is a term used to associate all software applications that cause damage or destruction to systems, computers, networks, and the like (Brown, 2011). The most common kinds of malware are spyware, adware, virus, and spam.
The spyware is a type of malware installed on computers designed to discretely