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Knowledge Discovery Subject Enrichment

The term Trojan is derived from the ancient Greek story of the wooden horse that was used to help Greek
troops invade the city of Troy by stealth.

Spyware

Spyware is a software designed to secretly monitor the activities
of and gather data from a computer. It exists as an independent
executable program and often collects confidential data, such as
passwords, PINs, credit card numbers, and email addresses. It
forwards the information to a third party without the consent or
knowledge of the user. A spyware usually gets installed in a computer
system as part of a useful software. Gator, Zango, or CoolWebSearch are some examples of spyware.

Adware
Adware, or advertising-supported software, downloads or displays
unwanted advertisements on your computer system. It automatically
displays advertisements in order to generate revenue for its author.
It can reduce the productivity and efficiency of a user. It tracks the
browsing habits of a user and redirects search requests to certain
advertising websites. DeskAd, BonziBuddy, and WeatherBug are
some examples of adware.
Apart from malicious software, certain activities are also considered as malware. Some of these
activities are:

Spam
Spam is unsolicited and unwanted email. It is usually sent by companies to
advertise and sell their products and services. It may contain malware in the

form of scripts scripts or other executable file attachments. Spam occupies
the storage space in your inbox that is meant for important email.
Phishing
Phishing is a fraudulent practice of sending email which appears to be from
a genuine source, in order to induce individuals to reveal their personal
information, such as passwords, credit card numbers, or other financial details.
The email may contain links to other websites that are infected with malware.

Ransomware
Ransomware is a type of malware that prevents or limits users from
accessing their system, either by locking the system’s screen or by
locking the users’ files until a ransom is paid. Ransomware can be
downloaded onto systems when unwitting users visit malicious
or compromised websites. Some ransomware are delivered as
attachments from spammed email, downloaded from malicious
pages through malvertisements, or dropped by exploit kits onto
vulnerable systems.

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