Worm Virus and Trojan Horse Attacks and Mitigation

Last Updated on Sun, 19 Feb 2023 | Wide Area Networks

This topic describes how to mitigate worm, virus, and Trojan horse attacks.

This topic describes how to mitigate worm, virus, and Trojan horse attacks.

Viruses are malicious software programs that are attached to other programs and which execute a particular unwanted function on a user workstation. A virus propagates itself by infecting other programs on the same computer. Viruses can do serious damage, such as erasing files or erasing an entire disk. They can also be a simple annoyance, such as popping up a window that says "Ha, ha, you are infected." Viruses cannot spread to a new computer without human assistance, for example, opening an infected file on a removable media such as an e-mail attachment, or through file sharing.

A worm executes arbitrary code and installs copies of itself in the memory of the infected computer. It can then infect other hosts from the infected computer. Like a virus, a worm is also a program that propagates itself. Unlike a virus, a worm can spread itself automatically over the network from one computer to the next. Worms are not clever or evil, they just take advantage of automatic file sending and receiving features found on many computers.

Trojan horse is a general term, referring to programs that appear desirable, but actually contain something harmful. For example, a downloaded game could erase files. The contents could also hold a virus or a worm.

A Trojan horse can attack on three levels. A virus known as the "Love Bug" is an example of a Trojan horse because it pretended to be a love letter when it actually carried a harmful program. The Love Bug was a virus because it infected all image files on the attacked disk, turning them into new Trojans. Finally, the Love Bug was a worm because it propagated itself over the Internet by hiding in the Trojan horses that it sent out using addresses in the attacked e-mail address book.

Implementing Secure Converged Wide Area Networks (ISCW) v1.0

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Readers' Questions

  • piper
    Which of the following statements describes a worm?
    6 months ago
    • A worm is a type of malicious software (also known as malware) that can replicate itself and spread to other computers without the user's knowledge. It is designed to damage or disrupt systems, steal information, or gain unauthorized access to data.
    • lalia
      Which statement describes a trojan horse?
      7 months ago
      • A Trojan horse is a form of malicious software that secretly performs malicious activities on a computer system, such as deleting files or collecting personal information. It is typically disguised as a legitimate piece of software that a user will unknowingly download and install.
      • elena
        Which of the following describes a trojan horse?
        7 months ago
        • A Trojan Horse is a type of malicious software that disguises itself as legitimate software. It is designed to gain access to a user's computer system by misleading the user to believe that it is a harmless program. Once on the system, the Trojan Horse can perform various functions, such as collecting data, downloading and executing additional malware, or even allowing hackers to gain access and control of the computer.