What's the Difference: Computer Virus vs Malware, vs Spyware, etc?
Summary
TLDRThis video script delves into the nuances of various types of malware, clarifying that computer viruses, worms, spyware, and trojans, while often used interchangeably, are distinct in their mechanisms of infection and impact. It explains how viruses require user execution to replicate, worms spread autonomously, and trojans disguise themselves as benign programs. The script also covers other malware categories like spyware, adware, scareware, ransomware, and rootkits, emphasizing the importance of keeping systems updated, regularly backing up data, and utilizing reliable antivirus software to safeguard against these digital threats.
Takeaways
- 🛡️ Malware is an umbrella term for any type of malicious software that harms a computer.
- 💾 A computer virus replicates itself by modifying files and requires user execution to spread.
- 🔄 A computer worm self-replicates and spreads automatically without user intervention, exploiting system vulnerabilities.
- 🐴 Trojans misrepresent themselves as benign programs but perform malicious activities in the background.
- 👁️ Spyware collects information from the computer without user permission, often for malicious purposes.
- 📢 Adware injects advertisements into the user’s browsing experience, sometimes through spyware.
- 😱 Scareware frightens users into taking actions like paying money, often by threatening them with false consequences.
- 💰 Ransomware holds the computer or files hostage, demanding payment for their release or decryption.
- 🔍 Rootkits gain elevated privileges, giving them deep control over the system, making them difficult to detect and remove.
- 🔧 Protecting against malware involves keeping the operating system and software up to date, backing up data, and using reliable antivirus software.
Q & A
What is the general term for all types of malicious software?
-The general term for all types of malicious software is 'malware'. It is an all-encompassing term that includes any software designed to harm a computer.
What differentiates a computer virus from other types of malware?
-A computer virus is a type of malware that replicates itself by modifying files of other programs, including the operating system, and requires user execution to become active.
How does a computer worm differ from a virus in terms of replication and spread?
-A computer worm differs from a virus in that it can spread automatically without user intervention, often exploiting vulnerabilities in the operating system to infect other computers on a network.
What is a Trojan, and how does it typically mislead users?
-A Trojan, or Trojan horse, is a type of malware that misrepresents itself as a benign program. It tricks users into installing it under the guise of legitimate software, but in reality, it performs malicious actions in the background.
What is the primary goal of most malware?
-The primary goal of most malware is to make money illegally for the creator, often through methods such as stealing personal information, taking control of a computer's resources, or encrypting files for ransom.
What is the role of a payload in malware, and is it always present?
-A payload in malware is the part of the software that performs the actual malicious actions, such as spying, damaging the computer, or encrypting files. It is not always present; for example, many worms spread for the sake of spreading without a specific payload.
What is spyware, and how does it operate?
-Spyware is a type of malware that spies on users by collecting information from the computer and sending it elsewhere without the user's consent. It can operate through keylogging, monitoring web traffic, or injecting advertisements.
What is scareware, and how does it attempt to manipulate users?
-Scareware is a type of malware that uses scare tactics to manipulate users into taking actions such as paying money or downloading software. It often presents false warnings or threats to coerce users into compliance.
How does ransomware differ from scareware, and what is its primary method of coercion?
-Ransomware is a form of scareware that holds the user's computer or files hostage, typically by encrypting files, and demands payment for their release. Its primary method of coercion is the threat of permanent data loss if the ransom is not paid.
What is a rootkit, and why is it particularly difficult to remove?
-A rootkit is a type of malware that gains elevated or administrative privileges on a computer, allowing it to take deep control over the system, including the ability to hide itself from detection. It is difficult to remove because it can control or subvert the very tools meant to remove it, such as antivirus programs.
What are three key measures that individuals can take to protect themselves from malware?
-Three key measures for protection against malware include keeping the operating system and software up to date, regularly backing up data to an external source, and using a reputable antivirus program with internet security features.
Outlines
🔒 Malware Basics: Understanding Viruses, Worms, and Trojans
This paragraph introduces the concept of malware, explaining that it's an umbrella term for malicious software designed to harm computers. It clarifies that while 'computer virus' is a commonly used term, it's not the most prevalent type of malware. A virus is defined as malicious software that replicates by modifying files, requiring user execution to spread. The paragraph also distinguishes between viruses and worms, noting that worms can propagate without user intervention by exploiting system vulnerabilities. The explanation includes how these threats can infiltrate systems, for instance, through email or file sharing services, and emphasizes the importance of understanding these differences for better computer protection.
🛡️ Protecting Your System: The Role of Updates and Antivirus
This section delves into the importance of keeping operating systems updated to protect against malware like worms, which exploit outdated software vulnerabilities. It also covers the different types of malware that do not self-replicate but can be equally destructive, such as Trojans, which disguise themselves as benign programs to trick users into installing them. The paragraph discusses various categories of malware, including spyware, adware, scareware, and ransomware, each with unique methods of operation and payloads. It highlights the significance of using antivirus software with internet security features to prevent infection and suggests keeping backups of data to safeguard against ransomware attacks.
🚨 Advanced Threats: The Dangers of Rootkits and Best Practices
The final paragraph focuses on rootkits, a type of malware that gains deep control over a computer by obtaining administrative privileges. Rootkits can be challenging to detect and remove due to their ability to hide themselves within the system. The paragraph advises on best practices for protection against all types of malware, including keeping software updated, regularly backing up data, and using comprehensive antivirus solutions. It also recommends considering reputable antivirus options and emphasizes the importance of understanding malware behaviors to better defend against them.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Malware
💡Computer Virus
💡Worm
💡Trojan
💡Spyware
💡Adware
💡ScareWare
💡Ransomware
💡Rootkit
💡Antivirus
💡Vulnerability
Highlights
Malware is an all-encompassing term for any software that does harm to a computer, and includes various subgroups.
A computer virus replicates itself by modifying files for other programs, including the operating system, to execute its code.
Virus requires user execution to become active and then replicates, often spreading through emails or file sharing services.
A computer worm self-replicates and spreads automatically without user intervention, exploiting vulnerabilities in operating systems.
Worms can infect an entire network by scanning for computers with the same vulnerability and infecting them automatically.
Trojans, or Trojan horses, misrepresent themselves as benign programs but perform malicious actions in the background.
Trojans are the most common type of malware and can trick users into installing them under the guise of legitimate software.
Spyware collects information from the computer and sends it elsewhere without the user's permission, often through keylogging or monitoring web traffic.
Adware is a type of malware that adds unwanted advertisements to a user's computer, potentially through injected affiliate links.
ScareWare tricks users into taking action, such as paying money, by using fear or threats, like fake FBI warnings or virus alerts.
Ransomware is a form of scareware that encrypts user files and demands payment for decryption, with the threat of data loss.
Rootkits gain deep control over the computer, allowing them to hide themselves effectively and resist removal by antivirus programs.
Keeping the operating system and software up to date is crucial for protecting against malware exploits and vulnerabilities.
Backing up data regularly can safeguard against data loss in the event of a ransomware attack or other malware damage.
Using antivirus software with internet security features can prevent malware from reaching the computer and block ransomware activities.
Bitdefender and ESET NOD32 are recommended antivirus options, with the suggestion to research the best antivirus for the current year.
The video concludes with a reminder of the importance of understanding different types of malware to better defend against them.
Transcripts
computer viruses malware spyware trojans
worms are all these terms referring to
the same thing and the answer is
technically no they are different and
we're going to go over what these
differences are whether it's how they
spread or what these things do to your
computer so maybe it's just out of
curiosity or it can help you protect
your computer going forward the first
term we can go over is pretty simple
which is malware and this refers to any
and all kinds of malicious software it's
an all-encompassing term for any type of
software that does harm to a computer
and all the terms we're going to be
talking about in this video could be
considered malware it's like an umbrella
term but there are lots of subgroups so
we're going to go over the different
categories and types of malware there
aren't really too many but when it comes
down to it all malware usually has the
same goal which is to make money
illegally for the creator of the malware
the first term we can talk about is a
computer virus which is usually the term
that most people use all the time but
it's not actually the most common type
of malware we'll get to that in a bit
but regardless a computer virus is
basically the name for malicious
software that when executed replicates
itself by modifying files for other
programs and possibly including the
operating system itself so that way
because these files are modified to now
include the virus whenever that program
or the operating system is started then
it will also run the virus code and this
could be for any number of reasons
stealing personal information taking
control of the computer and using its
computer power or storage for something
that the author of the virus wanted lots
of typical virus stuff you can imagine
but really the main differentiator for a
virus is that it remains dormant until
it's actually run by the user and then
when it is it replicates itself in some
way and this file may come in the form
of an exe file which is executed
directly or perhaps it's embedded in a
macro in a microsoft word document or
something like that so when you run the
program microsoft word it exploits that
and executes and then embeds itself in
the rest of the computer that way so
again downloading the file is not enough
to infect your computer but once you do
run it presumably thinking it's
something else then it does its virus
thing and it may spread itself by
sending out an email to all your
contacts the same way it was infecting
you that way perhaps or maybe it puts
itself in the upload folder for
bittorrent so then it also uploads
itself to
the file sharing service so other people
will download it something like that so
really the term virus has two qualities
it describes how it's spread which is
itself replicates and it's also run
manually by a user now the next term
might seem a bit similar and that is a
computer worm so this also self
replicates but it also has a very
important difference in that unlike a
virus which needs to be manually run by
user a computer worm can spread itself
automatically without user intervention
so this means it doesn't need a host
program to run like ms word or the exe
file that you need to run it can do this
automatically it basically scans for
other computers on the network that it
can infect and then it does so
automatically if it's able to of course
a worm will probably also have the
ability to be run manually by user and
infect computers that way that might be
how it initially gets started within a
network and then spreads automatically
from there from that first person doing
it and worms actually spread using
vulnerabilities and exploits of
operating systems themselves to infect
all the computers in a network so once
one computer is infected it scans like i
said all the other computers on network
sees if any other computers have that
same vulnerability and then infects them
automatically without any user
transferring files or anything like that
it all happens automatically in the
background from the virus itself and if
you're wondering wait a minute how can
the
worm spread to other computers if the
user isn't actually even running it well
it shouldn't be able to and that's why
it is an exploit of a vulnerability the
operating system is not designed to work
like that but for whatever reason the
worm is able to trick the operating
system in not only downloading that file
and downloading the worm but also
running it with zero user intervention
because of that exploit now again the
term worm only describes the software
based on how it spreads and replicates
it doesn't actually say or define what
it does once it does infect things in
fact apparently most computer worms
don't actually contain a so-called
payload which is like side code that
will do virus stuff that you typically
think of like spying on it or damaging
the computer so it might just spread
just for the heck of spreading but that
doesn't mean that it won't harm the
network it still uses up cpu power and
bandwidth and stuff like that but if it
does happen to have a payload it could
do any number of things that you
typically associate with malware such as
encrypting files for ransomware spying
and stealing credit card information or
even installing a so-called back door
which might allow the computer to be
controlled by the creator of the worm
and then added into a botnet to do all
sorts of malicious things as a group
with other computers and worms are just
one more example of why you need to keep
your operating system up to date because
that's just one example of software that
can take advantage of exploits in your
operating system usually older versions
after they've been discovered and people
don't update and it's a hacker's dream
to be able to take advantage of these
things and really it's so easy to avoid
just keep your software up to date so
both viruses and worms spread themselves
and replicate themselves in one way or
another whether it's manually by user or
automatically through a worm but there
are plenty of other types of malware
that don't replicate themselves but are
just as destructive so the next type we
can mention are trojans or trojan horses
which is a type of malware that
misrepresents itself as a normal or
benign program but really it in the
background will be doing malicious
things so it basically tricks the user
into installing it because it thinks
it's something else it thinks it's
something legitimate and typically
trojans are the most common type of
malware out there and they may actually
look like real programs they may run
they may do their intended purpose like
if it's a calculator app or something it
might actually be able to calculate
things and look like a calculator but
it's main purpose is to get you to
download it thinking it's just a
calculator and then it does all this
other stuff behind the scenes without
you knowing another really common
example are fake antivirus programs that
tell you oh look how many computer
viruses and infections we found you
better buy our premium package to remove
all these when in reality that antivirus
program itself is the virus it's fake
and these trojans can be spread in any
number of ways that you can imagine such
as spam email attachments that come out
of the blue they might be fake
advertisements or through social media
stuff like that but again the main
differentiator between a trojan and say
a virus is that a trojan doesn't inject
itself into other files of other
programs and doesn't replicate itself
and send it to other people or anything
like that if it did it would be
considered a virus so those three
categories viruses worms and trojans
typically describe the way that the
malware spreads but they don't talk
about how much or necessarily what
damage they do once they do infect and
there are categories for that that we
can talk about next the first of these
is spyware which just like the name
suggests is software or malware that
spies on you or collects information
from the computer and then sends it
somewhere else now technically spyware
could include programs that aren't even
illegal like you do give them permission
to spy on you and collect information
but usually the vast majority of the
time when someone says spyware they're
referring to malware that did not get
your permission to collect any
information at all and it is malicious
and spyware could come in lots of
different flavors it could be a key
logger which literally collects every
single letter that you type in hoping to
collect passwords or credit card numbers
or bank accounts and stuff like that it
may also monitor what you're doing
online and what monitoring your web
traffic to be able to inject things into
it such as advertisements or maybe
replacing links with affiliate links or
advertisements to websites that it
wasn't necessarily going to direct to
and usually malware that adds
advertisements to your computer in one
way or another is typically referred to
as adware so it may be that some of the
malware that we talk about in this video
may actually fall under multiple
categories another couple big categories
are scareware and ransomware ransomware
may be considered a subcategory of
scareware we'll get to that but
scareware is typically some sort of
malware that tricks a user into paying
money or doing something by scaring them
or threatening them so one example might
be a virus or a trojan or whatever that
pops up on the screen a big thing that
says you're being arrested by the fbi
unless you pay up this money as a fine
or something like that it scares you
like oh my god i don't want to get
arrested and then some people might
actually pay or a lot like those irs
scams that you get on the phone it might
be something similar on the computer it
says if you don't send this much bitcoin
to this address then the irs is going to
arrest you and you're going to go to
jail but it doesn't necessarily have to
threaten you it could be again just to
scare you a lot of advertisements for
example that are kind of sketchy you've
probably seen them it says your computer
is infected with so many viruses click
here to clean your computer and all that
sort of thing obviously it doesn't know
if your computer is infected or not it's
just trying to scare you into doing it
and that would be scareware now
ransomware is a form of scareware that
will typically hold your computer
hostage in one way or another until you
usually pay some sort of amount of money
sometimes ransomware may just be kind of
bluffing and it only locks your computer
in a way that's pretty easy to reverse
if you know what you're doing and it
doesn't actually affect any of your
files but other times ransomware does
have teeth and it actually will encrypt
your files for example and it says if
you don't pay us this amount of money
within this amount of time we're going
to destroy the decryption key and your
files will actually be gone and the
reason they do this is because if people
know that their software out there that
this one isn't bluffing then they're a
lot more likely to pay up to get their
files back if they haven't backed up for
example all right now the final type of
malware we're going to talk about in
this video at least is root kits and
root kits usually take over the computer
by gaining elevated privileges or
administrative
privileges and the name rootkit comes
from the term root privileges which just
means something that has control over
the deepest most secure parts of the
operating system and because this type
of malware does have such deep control
over the computer it can hide itself
very well it literally has control over
everything it can even hide itself by
not even including itself in the list of
processes like in the task manager or
something like that complete control and
this obviously means it's going to be
very very hard to remove if not
impossible because it will even have
control over the programs that are meant
to remove it such as anti-virus programs
it could prevent you from installing
anti-virus programs it can stop those
anti-virus programs from running stuff
like that so a lot of times especially
if the root kit is embedded in the
kernel which is the core of the
operating system usually if you get a
root kit the best thing is to just
completely wipe the drive and reinstall
the operating system from scratch
because you don't know if you actually
removed everything and if it's actually
still hiding and waiting to reinstall
itself later and rootkits usually are
able to install themselves using
operating system vulnerabilities and
exploits like we kind of talked about
before or stealing admin credentials or
using credentials it found to then take
over now at this point you might be
worried you're like oh how do i protect
myself and there's really three things
you can do that will almost certainly
protect you 99 of the time and the first
of these is to of course keep your
operating system and software up to date
i've said this so many times do not skip
windows updates update as soon as you
get the ability to and that way if you
get like a zero day vulnerability which
is something that was just discovered
and released immediately to the public
and hackers will be jumping on that to
try and get people who don't update
right away so keep stuff up to date and
you'll be protected from any exploits
the next thing which is really important
i've said this before again is to back
up your data have backup copies of your
data
hopefully on a external hard drive that
is not connected to the computer so a
ransomware can't encrypt the backup as
well or using something like cloud
backup that is off site this way if you
do get malware that harms your files or
does something else to your computer
that requires a reinstallation of your
os it'll be way easier to recover them
especially in the case of ransomware and
finally the third major thing is to use
some sort of antivirus i mean it's
better than nothing to have the one
that's built into your computer such as
windows defender whatever it's called
now again better than nothing if you
know you're doing but ideally you use a
type of antivirus that has something
called internet security which usually
kind of scans for things coming across
the network and usually can block things
before they ever even get to your
computer and a lot of these antiviruses
also have anti-ransomware features that
will stop a program from running if it
sees that it's modifying files like
ransomware might do if you're looking
for suggestions for some options for
antiviruses one good option is
bitdefender full disclosure they did
sponsor a previous video of mine but
they're not sponsoring this one there's
no sponsor for this video another good
option is eset knob32 i've used them in
the past haven't had any problems but
really you can just go on google and
search best antivirus current year at
the end of it and look at tests and see
what one is the best for the current
year so hopefully that clears things up
if you didn't know about the differences
between names of other types of malware
now you do and you might have a better
understanding of how certain types of
malware spread so you can better defend
your computer against it you'll kind of
know what you're up against if you guys
want you can keep watching by clicking
some other videos i have on here and on
my channel and be sure to let me know
that you think down in the comment
section did you know about these or is
there something i forgot about we could
talk about that down in the comments so
again hopefully you guys enjoyed this
video if you want to subscribe i make a
few new videos every week so until next
time be seeing you
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