What is malware?

Malware is any malicious software written to harm devices, data, or people. Malware is a parent term that has many siblings, such as: virus, grayware, ransomware, etc. The following table lists some examples of malware, a description, and a remedy.

As you can see from the table, Yellcom Cybersecurity Protection Services prevent infections, as explained in our FAQ: “Why does my computer have malware?“.

If one of your systems shows signs of an infection, we can do better.

Category

Description

Remedy

Akamai NetSession

Shares your computer idle time with others on the web.

Yellcom Cybersecurity Protection Services prevent the infection

Backdoor

Method of bypassing authentication procedures; installed using trojans, worms, etc.

Yellcom Cybersecurity Protection Services prevent the infection

Botnet

Group of infected computers used, without your knowledge, to send malware, collect your personal information, etc.

Yellcom Cybersecurity Protection Services prevent the infection

Denial-of-Service Attack

Overwhelming a local network or computer with illegal traffic

Yellcom Cybersecurity Protection Services prevent the infection

Drive-By Download

5-stage programed attack that completes in .5 second

Yellcom Cybersecurity Protection Services prevent the infection

Grayware

Degrade system performance and create security risks

Yellcom Cybersecurity Protection Services prevent the infection

Adware

Advertising-supported software which automatically renders advertisements on the display

Yellcom Cybersecurity Protection Services prevent the infection

Dialer

Dials a premium-rate telephone number automatically

Yellcom Cybersecurity Protection Services prevent the infection

Key loggers

Capture keyboard keystrokes

Yellcom Cybersecurity Protection Services prevent the infection

Pop-Ups

Pop-up windows can inhibit user activities

Browser Pop-Up Blocker

PUPs

Potentially Unwanted Programs that users inadvertently consented to download and install

Yellcom Cybersecurity Protection Services prevent the infection

Spyware

Identify Theft

Yellcom Cybersecurity Protection Services prevent the infection

Man-in-the-Middle Attacks

Hackers reading files in transit over the intranet or over an unsecured WiFi network

Using a VPN connection and 256-bit Encrypted transmissions (https://).

Phishing Attack

Email directing a user to a look-alike website where they are asked personal information that the legitimate business already knows.

User training required.

Ransomware or Scareware

Blocks access to all local disks and files which prevents access to your data and applications

Yellcom Cybersecurity Protection Services prevent the infection

As an added precaution, Yellcom Backup Services can restore infected files.

Rootkits

Malware that first generation anti-malware software cannot detect

Yellcom Cybersecurity Protection Services prevent the infection

Spam

Receiving bulk, unsolicited, messages (emails, IM, forum & blog posting, and social media)

Yellcom Cybersecurity Protection Services prevent the infection. If you see one, delete it. Do not read it.

SQL Injection

Injects malicious code into a database

Yellcom Cybersecurity Protection Services prevent the infection

Trojans

Programs with harmful actions such as opening a port in the firewall for a virus, remote access, or identity theft

Yellcom Cybersecurity Protection Services prevent the infection

Viruses

Executable code that attaches to clean files and infects other clean files

Yellcom Cybersecurity Protection Services prevent the infection

Worms

Programs that travel over the network infecting other systems

Yellcom Cybersecurity Protection Services prevent the infection

In addition, Yellcom Computer Services can perform a security assessment to identify all your security issues, their severity, and recommend changes.

Contact Us

Contact us if you wish to discuss your possibilities.