Malware for dummies
By Kamini Budke, SE EXTC
In the middle of your binge session, a dialogue box pops up with an ominous ‘ ding’ on your laptop. There are three or four lines of complete computer gibberish. You can’ t close this dialogue box. You can’ t store your work and restart. It’ s as if your computer is mocking you by displaying a jargon yet you are left with no choice but click “ okay” at the end. Something seems to you taken over the control of your laptop and you must surrender to its demands. What is it though? Virus? Malware? Is there even a difference? Malware, as the name suggests, is malicious software which can harm your computer / Device. It is designed to damage, steal, or in general inflict some illegitimate action on data, hosts, or networks. On the other hand, Viruses are all part of a class of malware. Thus, it doesn’ t make much sense to differentiate malware from a virus; it’ s like differentiating a pistol from a weapon.
Viruses: A computer virus is a type of malware that propagates by inserting a copy of itself into and becoming part of another program.
● Viruses could cause mildly annoying effects like damaging data nevertheless also serious like causing denial-of-service ( DoS) conditions.
● Viruses are mostly attached to an executable file. The virus will not be active or able to spread until a user runs or opens the malicious host file or program.
You may find change in locations of certain files and even complete loss of a few others however, the host program keeps functioning after it is infected by the virus. Worms: Computer worms, alike viruses, replicate functional copies of themselves and propagate to these replicas to the computer base.
● A worm enters a computer through a vulnerability in the system.
● In contrast to viruses, which require the spreading of an infected host file, worms are standalone software. They do not require a host program or human help to propagate.
It damages or stops computer functioning by multiplying and taking up all the computer memory.