By itself, the term Malware sounds terrifying, is not it? When we say Malware we mean software that is designed to hurt or disable computers and computer systems. There are many types of malware, viruses, and sophisticated state cyber weapons all designed for a very specific goal.
Some types of malware can be more destructive and more insidious than other malware.
Below we mention 4 of the most terrifying types of malware currently in circulation:
Rootkit Malware
Rootkit is a type of software that is "invisible" and malicious. The purpose of a rootkit is to give administrator privileges (hence the name Root) to the hacker, allowing full control of the infected system. Another goal of rootkit is to avoid detection by antimalware in order to maintain control of the system.
Τα Rootkits έχουν συνήθως τη δυνατότητα να κρύβουν την ύπαρξή τους και έτσι είναι πολύ δύσκολο να ανιχνευθούν. Η ανίχνευση και η απομάκρυνση μπορεί να είναι από δύσκολο έως και πρακτικά αδύνατη, ανάλογα με τον τύπο του rootkit που έχει εγκατασταθεί. Η recovery μπορεί μερικές φορές να απαιτεί τη deletion of the entire operating system.
Ransomware
Ransomware is the malware that infects one system, συχνά κρυπτογραφεί τα data, και στη συνέχεια, απαιτεί χρήματα για να ξεκλειδώσει τα archives of the victim.
If the money is not paid within the deadline set by the criminals, they are in danger of keeping the decryption key, making the data of the computer useless.
One of the most famous programs parchange of Ransomware is the well-known CryptoLocker. It is believed that to date, fraudsters using this particular malware have managed to collect around $3 million from their victims worldwide.
Ransomware is an offshoot of Scareware which is another form of malware that attempts tobreak money from victims through threats and deception. Some Ransomware can be removed even without paying money, others are impossible to remove and if the victim has data they don't want to lose, the only way to save it is to pay the ransom.
Persistent Malware or Persistent Malware (Advanced Persistent Threat Malware)
There are some malware that are very difficult to remove. Where you think your anti-virus has managed to delete them, they seem to be coming back. This is why these malware are called Advanced Persistent Threat Malware. They usually infect a system with many malware applications. Malware leaves its "pieces" everywhere and so it is almost impossible to clean.
Even if security programs are able to remove malware from the settings they have made to the system, they make web browsers redirect users to malware sites where they can be re-infected, causing a vicious cycle of infections.
Other forms of Persistent Malware infiltrate the firmware of the hard drive where anti-viruses usually cannot discover them.
Malware Firmware
But probably the scariest of all forms of malware is the malware installed on the hardware and components του. Για παράδειγμα στους σκληρούς δίσκους, στο BIOS του συστήματος, και άλλα περιφερειακά. Μερικές φορές ο μόνος τρόπος για να διορθώσετε μια τέτοια λοίμωξη είναι να αντικαταστήσετε πλήρως το μολυσμένο υλικό, μια εξαιρετικά δαπανηρή διαδικασία, ειδικά εάν η λοίμωξη έχει διαδοθεί σε πολλούς υπολογιστές.
Malware Firmware is also extremely difficult to detect because traditional anti-virus programs do not detect firmware threats.