Rogue security software

Rogue security software is a form of malicious software and internet fraud that misleads users into believing there is a virus on their computer and aims to convince them to pay for a fake malware removal tool that actually installs malware on their computer. It is a form of scareware that manipulates users through fear, and a form of ransomware. Rogue security software has been a serious security threat in desktop computing since 2008. An early example that gained infamy was SpySheriff and its clones, such as Nava Shield. Rogue security software mainly relies on social engineering (fraud) to defeat the security built into modern operating system and browser software and install itself onto victims' computers. A website may, for example, display a fictitious warning dialog stating that someone's machine is infected with a computer virus, and encourage them through manipulation to install or purchase scareware in the belief that they are purchasing genuine antivirus software. Most have a Trojan horse component, which users are misled into installing. The Trojan may be disguised as: A browser plug-in or extension (typically toolbar) An image, screensaver or attached to an e-mail message Multimedia codec required to play a certain video clip Software shared on peer-to-peer networks A free online malware-scanning service Some rogue security software, however, propagate onto users' computers as drive-by downloads which exploit security vulnerabilities in web browsers, PDF viewers, or email clients to install themselves without any manual interaction. More recently, malware distributors have been utilizing SEO poisoning techniques by pushing infected URLs to the top of search engine results about recent news events. People looking for articles on such events on a search engine may encounter results that, upon being clicked, are instead redirected through a series of sites before arriving at a landing page that says that their machine is infected and pushes a download to a "trial" of the rogue program.

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Computer virus

A computer virus is a type of malware that, when executed, replicates itself by modifying other computer programs and inserting its own code into those programs. If this replication succeeds, the affected areas are then said to be "infected" with a computer virus, a metaphor derived from biological viruses. Computer viruses generally require a host program. The virus writes its own code into the host program. When the program runs, the written virus program is executed first, causing infection and damage.

Rogue security software

Spyware

Spyware (a portmanteau for spying software) is software with malicious behaviour that aims to gather information about a person or organization and send it to another entity in a way that harms the user by violating their privacy, endangering their device's security, or other means. This behaviour may be present in malware and in legitimate software. Websites may engage in spyware behaviours like web tracking. Hardware devices may also be affected. Spyware is frequently associated with advertising and involves many of the same issues.

Emphasizes the importance of protecting work and EPFL by following laws, securing data, and staying alert while surfing the internet.

Emphasizes the importance of protecting work and EPFL through security measures and prevention strategies for safe web surfing.

Explores botnets, networks of compromised hosts controlled by a single entity, and defense strategies against them, highlighting the impact of malicious software.