Download OWN YOUR SPACE

CHAPTER 2
KNOW YOUR VILLAINS
 Who writes it:
 Malware writers vary in age, income level, location,
social/peer interaction, education level, likes, dislikes and
manner of communication
 Why do the write it:
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Challenge
To become famous
Steal intellectual property from corporations
Destroy corporate data
Promote fraudulent activity
Spy on other countries
Create networks of corporate systems
Steal identities
Steal money
 Virus – A piece of code that makes copies of itself.
 A single computer infected with a virus can infect
hundreds of thousands of other computer
 Your machine can be infected if you:
 Share infected CDs
 Download and run infected software from the Internet
 Open infected e-mail attachments
 Open infected files on a USB drive
 Over 200 new viruses, Trojans and other threats
appear ever day.
 Signature – A unique pattern of bits that antivirus
sofware uses to identify a virus.
 Payload – A subset of instructions that usually does
something nasty to your computer system.
 Can destroy or change your data
 Change system settings
 Send out your confidential information
 Initiate a denial of service (DoS) attack
 Worm – A standalone malware program that copies
itself across networks.
 A worm transmits itself between machines across a
network. A virus attaches itself to files.
 How do you get a worm?
 From the Internet through a security flaw
 Some require no action by the user, you may just surf
a website that is infected
 Worms are extremely fast
 Once a security flaw is found they can be released
before a patch can be released
 Script kiddie – A low-talent hacker (often a teenager)
who uses easy, well-known techniques to exploit
Internet security vulnerabilities. In the hacker
community, being called a script kiddie is a major
insult.
 Write and release variants of worms
 Don’t have the same skill or creativity needed to
actually create a worm or virus.
 Variant – A mutated form of a virus or worm.
 Trojan Horses – Camouflages itself as something
harmless or desirable. Once in your computer
opens a “back door” and lets attackers in.
 Back door allows someone else to control your
computer system and/or access your files without
your permission or knowledge
 Allows the attackers to return later and steal
confidential information or to use your machine to
steal others’ information
 Zero Day attack – An attack that takes advantage of
a security hole for which there is no current patch.
 Blended threat – A form of malware that includes
more than just one attack. It could include a virus,
worm and Trojan horse.
 Causes more damage than just one piece of malware
alone.
 Zombie or Bot – A computer that’s been
compromised by a piece of code that allows it to be
controlled remotely without the computer owner’s
knowledge.
 Bot network – A collection of remotely controlled bots.
Hackers use bot networks to launch attacks against other
computers.
 Used to launch DoS attacks
 DoS – A denial of service attack. In a DoS attack, the
victim is flooded with so much Internet traffic that
legitimate users can’t get through.
 How to stop it?
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Apply current patches
Make sure anti-virus software is up to date
Must have anti-spyware and anti-adware software also
Use a well defined firewall
 Social engineering – Using general knowledge of
human behavior to trick users into breaking their own
security rules.
 Email that appears to come from someone you know
 Email may be a joke
 Curiosity
 Install a top-rated antivirus package and keep it updated
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using the automatic updat option
Install patches to ALL software you use including your
browsers, plug-ins and utility programs
Download software only from first-party websites (the
publishers)
Be very careful about free downloads
Be very careful of e-mail from people you don’t know.
Never open attachments to emails of unknown origin.
Be careful of e-mail from people you do know. Some
attacks appear to come from people you know. Some
worms resend themselves to every person in a victims
address book.
Don’t open attachments you weren’t expecting no matter
who it’s from.