In Part 1 we covered Viruses, Trojans and Worms, now we are covering Rootkits, Adware, Spyware and cookies.
What is a Rootkit? These are programs designed to kide objects such as files, windows registry entries or processes. A rootkit itself is not malicious but i sused by writers of malware to cover their tracks in infected computers. The first examples of malware using rootkits to hide themselves appeared in 2005. Spyware, Adware and Bots added these characteristics to their own to try to avoid detection.
These programs go hand in hand with cyber-crime to use malware for financial gain and be as stealthy as possible. Rootkits enable malware to remain hidden longer before detection.
What is Spyware and Adware? Spyware and Adware are programs that display adverts associated with the product or service being offered by the creator of the program. It can be installed in a number of ways, in many cases without the users consent or without knowledge of its function.
The term Adware and Spyware can be controversial, as a rule they are not used for criminal intent but to advertise products ad services. information collected does not include bank details but more liek web pages visited or favorites etc.
What are Cookies? Cookies are small text files stored on a computer by your web browser after visiting a web page. The information stored by the cookies has a number of usess. It can be used to personalise a web page for the next time you vist, to collect demographic information about the visitors to the page or to monitor banner clicks.
A good example is when you revisit a page and it says "Welcome back <your name>" such as Ebay or Amazon etc.
While a cookie in itself is not malicious it could be used by malicious code to affect a users privicy as it can create a users profile of browsing activity and send it to third parties.
How do I protect myself and my business? This is not as difficult as it first seems:
