Avoiding Trojan Horse Infections

The Trojan Horse in Greek mythology was the way the Greeks defeated the Trojans when it was thought that they stood no chance ? they gave it to the Trojans, who accepted it in good faith. But, in the dead of the night, Greek soldiers poured out from the horse and plundered and burnt Troy. This is what the modern Trojan does to your computer, as well ? it gets into your computer in apparently innocent ways, and, when you least expect it, wreaks havoc.

The first Trojan attack in computing was found in 2002 ? it had infected SendMail and OpenSSH packages. A hacker had broken into the websites that did the distribution and switched the original, harmless files with the ones with the Trojan. This incident pointed out that it is very easy to get your computer infected through downloads. Now users try to tackle it by using the most sophisticated malware scanners before installing anything.

Another common way of spreading various Trojan Horse infections is email. Since people are naturally curious, the sender uses enticing file names to attract your attention and make you open the file. Other popular methods of spreading Trojan Horses are through instant messenger programs and shared files. One important fact to keep in mind is that a Trojan Horse can’t spread by itself. It needs the user to take action on the file, which means if you receive a Trojan and you click on it, it’ll spread. But, if you ignore it and remove it from your system, you have no problems.

Strictly speaking, a Trojan is not a virus. Viruses are known to replicate themselves and spread through infection within a single system and eventually spread to connected systems. Trojan Horses rely on end-users to spread around. Trojan Horses are not always malicious, although the majority are. They are best known to be back-door programs, which means they allow another person to bypass authentication to a computer and remotely access it for their own use, while remaining undetected.

There are six different types of Trojan Horses, categorized according to how the Trojan gets into the system and what kind of damage it does. These types are data destruction, server Trojan, downloader, denial-of-service, security software disabler and remote access. These Trojans can corrupt your files, erase your data, encrypt files, copy fake links, open back-doors to your system, steal your private data, harvest email addresses, interfere with programs you are running and shut down and restart your computer.

You might not be able to detect a Trojan easily, but your malware scanner and anti-virus programs ought to be able to detect and remove it. If you can?t, the Trojan might be a leech on a necessary and legitimate file. If this is so, you might have to boot your computer in the safe mode, and you ought to be able to get rid of it with relative ease.

To avoid infection by a Trojan Horse, the wisest thing to do is to never open files you have no reason to trust and to be very careful of what you download ? always scan before opening. Your malware scanners should always be updated scrupulously ? then they can get rid of any malware that might get into your computer.

The Lastest posts in Software

Music Production With FM Synthesis and Roland Synthesizers
Back in the 1980s, Yamaha came out the DX synthesizers. Hence, the birth of freq...
http://www.bizarticlezone.com/business-computers/software/music-production-with-fm-synthesis-and-roland-synthesizers-4984/

End of Scratches: Xbox 360 Back Up
All the people who has ever owned a console from the first Playstation to the ...
http://www.bizarticlezone.com/business-computers/software/end-of-scratches-xbox-360-back-up-4895/

VST Platinum - Home Music Production Tips
Recording levels are of the utmost importance when you're producing your music. ...
http://www.bizarticlezone.com/business-computers/software/vst-platinum-home-music-production-tips-4836/

Computer Programmers and What it is They Do
Several of todays companies, businesses, and organizations rely largely on compu...
http://www.bizarticlezone.com/business-computers/software/computer-programmers-and-what-it-is-they-do-4787/

Online Wii Games
The Wii was an instant success. This is a gaming system which is completely diff...
http://www.bizarticlezone.com/business-computers/software/online-wii-games-4683/

RegDefense - Truly Efficient and Effective
Getting so much stress from your computer malfunctions? Such as computer freezes...
http://www.bizarticlezone.com/business-computers/software/regdefense-truly-efficient-and-effective-4566/

COMPUTER TOO SLOW? Your Windows operating system may need a clean up to resume its speed
After running their new computer for awhile, users sometimes complain that their...
http://www.bizarticlezone.com/business-computers/software/computer-too-slow-your-windows-operating-system-may-need-a-clean-up-to-resume-its-speed-4551/

A Guide To DJ Music and DJ Mixing Basic Sound Synthesis
Even presently, nearly all synthesizers would give you the monophonic or polypho...
http://www.bizarticlezone.com/business-computers/software/a-guide-to-dj-music-and-dj-mixing-basic-sound-synthesis-4487/

Computer Tech Tools- Here Are Three Everybody Should Have
The question I am asked most is, "Why has my computer slowed down so much?" Whi...
http://www.bizarticlezone.com/business-computers/software/computer-tech-tools-here-are-three-everybody-should-have-4408/

Emulating The XBOX 360
One of the earliest and most powerful game consoles is the Xbox 360. Like its pr...
http://www.bizarticlezone.com/business-computers/software/emulating-the-xbox-360-4369/