Threats to Computer Security
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Spyware
This software collects information about a particular user or organization
without their knowledge. Spyware often escapes detection entirely. In gen-
eral, the goal of spyware is to:
trace user actions on a computer;
gather information on the contents of your hard drive; in such cas-
es, this usually involves scanning several directories and the sys-
tem registry to compile a list of software installed on the computer;
gather information on the quality of the connection, bandwidth,
modem speed, etc.
Riskware
Potentially dangerous applications include software that has no malicious
features but could form part of the development environment for malicious
programs or could be used by hackers as auxiliary components for malicious
programs. This program category includes programs with backdoors and
vulnerabilities, as well as some remote administration utilities, keyboard
layout togglers, IRC clients, FTP servers, and all-purpose utilities for stop-
ping processes or hiding their operation.
Another type of malicious program that is similar to adware, spyware, and risk-
ware are programs that plug into your web browser and redirect traffic. The web
browser will open different web sites than those intended.
Jokes
Software that does not cause a host any direct harm but displays messages
that such harm has already been caused or will result under certain condi-
tions. These programs often warn the user of non-existent dangers, such as
messages that warn of formatting the hard drive (although no formatting ac-
tually takes place) or detecting viruses in uninfected files.
Rootkits
These are utilities which are used to conceal malicious activity. They mask
malicious programs to keep anti-virus programs from detecting them.
Rootkits m
odify basic functions of the computer‟s operating system to hide
both their own existence and actions that the hacker undertakes on the in-
fected computer.
Other dangerous programs
These are programs created to, for instance, set up denial of service (DoS)
attacks on remote servers, hack into other computers, and programs that
are part of the development environment for malicious programs. These
programs include hack tools, virus builders, vulnerability scanners, pass-