Educational

1. DIGITAL FLUENCY
DIGITAL FLUENCY DIGUGGGGGGGGGITAL FLUENCY
NAME: S.LINGESHWAR
TOPIC : VIRUSES AND DIFFERENT TYPES OF
THREATS
FROM: 1st YEAR BCOM ‘F’ SECTION

2. INTRODUCTIONVIRUS
A COMPUTER VIRUS IS A TYPE OF COMPUTER
PROGRAM THAT,WHEN EXECUTED,REPLICATES ITSELF
BY MODIFYING OTHER COMPUTER PROGRAMS AND
INSERTING ITS OWN CODE. IF THIS REPLICATION
SUCCEEDS,THE AFFECTED AREAS ARE THEN SAID TO BE
“INFECTED” WITH A COMPUTER VIRUS.
IN SHORT, A COMPUTER VIRUS IS A TYPE OF
MALICIOUS{INTENTION TO HARM} SOFTWARE, OR
MALWARE,THAT SPREADS BETWEEN COMPUTERS AND
CAUSES DAMAGE TO DATA AND SOFTWARE. ITS MAIN AIM
IS TO DISRUPT SYSTEM, CAUSE OPERATIONAL ISSUES
,AND RESULT IN DATA LOSS AND LEAKAGE.

3. CATEGORIES OF VIRUS
VIRUSES ARE MAINLY CLASSIFIED INTO THREE MAIN CATEGORIES
OR TYPES, THEY ARE:
MACRO VIRUS : THESE ARE THE LARGEST TYPES OF THE
THREE TYPES.THEY USE BUILD-IN PROGRAMMING SCRIPTS IN
SUCH APPLICATIONS AS MICROSOFT EXCEL , WORD TO AUTOMATE
THE TASKS.WHEN AN UNSUSPECTING USER OPENS A DOCUMENT
INFECTED BY A MACRO VIRUS, THEY GIVE IT THE GREEN LIGHT TO
MAKE COPIES OF ITSELF IN OTHER DOCUMENTS AND MULTIPLY.
BOOT RECORD INFECTORS : THESE VIRUSES
ARE KNOWN ALSO AS BOOT VIRUSES OR SYSTEM
VIRUSES. THEY ATTACK PROGRAMS STORED ON
BOOTABLE FLOPPY OR HARD DISKS. EVERY TIME
A USER BOOTS UP, THE VIRUS-INFECTED CODE AUTOMATICALLY
RUN AS WELL . THIS GIVES HACKERS FULL CONTROL OF AN ENTIRE
SYSTEM AND LETS EXACTLY DO WHAT THEY WANT WITH IT. BOOT
RECORD INFECTORS CAN BE SPREAD FROM ONE INFECTED
BOOTABLE DISK TO ANOTHER.

4. • FILE INFECTORS : THESE VIRUSES TARGET .EXE OR .COM
FILES AND CHANGES THEM. FILE INFECTORS GET ACTIVATED
EVERY TIME USERS RUN A COMPROMISED PROGRAM. WHAT
MAKES THIS TYPE OF VIRUS ESPECIALLY INSIDIOUS IS THAT IT
CAN SIMPLY STAY INACTIVE IN THE MEMORY UNTIL IT GETS A
CUE TO INFECT OTHER PROGRAM FILES. THESE VIRUSES CAN
GET TRANSMITTED OVER NETWORKS, THE INTERNET OR BY
USING INFECTED DISKS.

5. VARIOUS TYPES OF THREATS TO THE
COMPUTERS
COMPUTER SECURITY THREAT CAN REFER TO ANYTHING WHICH CAN HAMPER THE NORMAL
ACTIVITY OF A PC EITHER VIA A MALWARE OR ANY HACKING ATTACK.
TYPES OF COMPUTER SECURITY THREATS
THERE ARE SEVERAL TYPES OF COMPUTER SECURITY THREATS SUCH AS TROJANS, VIRUS,
ADWARE, MALWARE, ROOTKIT, HACKERS AND MUCH MORE. CHECK SOME OF THE MOST
HARMFUL TYPES OF COMPUTER SECURITY THREATS.
COMPUTER VIRUS
A COMPUTER VIRUS IS A MALICIOUS PROGRAM, WHICH REPLICATES ITSELF AND INFECTS THE
FILES AND PROGRAMS OF YOUR PC AND CAN MAKE THEM NON-FUNCTIONAL.
COMPUTER WORMS
A SELF-REPLICATING COMPUTER PROGRAM THAT SPREADS MALICIOUS CODES, COMPUTER
WORMS MAKE USE OF THE NETWORK TO SEND COPIES OF THE ORIGINAL CODES TO OTHER
PCS. IT CAN ALSO GO TO THE EXTENT OF SENDING TRANSFERRING DOCUMENTS UTILIZING
THE EMAIL OF THE USER.
SCAREWARE
SCAREWARE IS A MALWARE THAT TRICKS VICTIMS TO BUY THE SOFTWARE BY DISPLAYING FAKE
VIRUS ALERTS. A SCAREWARE INFECTED PC MAY GET POP-UPS OF FAKE MALWARE THREATS
AND TO GET RID OF THOSE, USERS ARE PROMPTED TO PURCHASE A FAKE ANTI-MALWARE
SOFTWARE.

6. KEYLOGGER
ALSO KNOWN AS A KEYSTROKE LOGGER, KEYLOGGERS CAN TRACK
THE REAL-TIME ACTIVITY OF A USER ON HIS COMPUTER.
KEYLOGGER RUNS IN THE BACKGROUND AND RECORDS ALL
KEYSTROKES MADE BY A USER AND PASSES THE INFORMATION TO
THE HACKER WITH THE MOTIVE TO STEAL PASSWORD AND
BANKING DETAILS.
ROOTKIT
ROOTKIT IS CONSIDERED EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AS THEY
APPEAR TO BE LEGITIMATE FILES AND DECEIVES THE COMPUTER
USER. ROOTKIT MASKS VIRUSES AND WORMS AND MAKES THEM
APPEAR AS NECESSARY FILES. THESE ARE VERY DIFFICULT TO
REMOVE AND ONLY AN ANTIVIRUS WITH THE ANTI-ROOTKIT
FEATURE CAN REMOVE A ROOTKIT.

7. PREVENTION OF COMPUTER FROM ITS THREATS
1. INCULCATE A HABIT OF NOT USING PASSWORDS BUT START USING PASSPHRASES.
THIS WILL SECURE THE AUTHENTICATION AND HELPS YOU STAY SAFE.
2. ACTIVATE WINDOWS FIREWALLS SO THAT THE SECURITY BARRIER IS RAISED TO
NEXT LEVEL.
3. INVEST IN GOOD ANTIVIRUS AND ANTI-MALWARE SOFTWARE
4. STOP INSTALLING CRACKED SOFTWARE, IF NOT THEN IT WILL OPEN DOORS FOR A
LOT OF SPYWARE INSTALLATION.
5. IF YOU ARE USING ONLINE STORAGE SPACES LIKE, GOOGLE DRIVE, DROPBOX THEN
PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU ENCRYPT YOUR DATA BY USING ONLINE ENCRYPTED
SERVICES. THIS WAY IF THESE BIG COMPANIES HAVE FACE ANY DATA BREACH YOU
DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT YOUR DATA LOSS.
6. SECURE YOUR WIFI NETWORKS WITH SECURE PASSPHRASE RATHER THAN A
PASSWORD AND MAKE SURE THE NETWORK IS WPA2 ENCRYPTION.
7. MAKE SURE YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA SETTINGS ARE APPROPRIATE.
8. SECURE YOUR MOBILE PHONE'S, ALWAYS MAKE A HABIT TO DOWNLOAD APPS
FROM GOOGLE PLAY STORE OR APPLE STORE.
9. PLEASE DO NOT STORE YOUR CREDIT CARD OR DEBIT CARD DETAILS ON
WEBSITES.
10. IF YOU GOT HACKED, PLEASE DO NOT PANIC, PLEASE CONSULT AN
APPROPRIATE ETHICAL HACKER OR HELP FROM YOUR IT TEAM.
11. NEVER TRUST EMAILS, A LOT OF FAKE EMAILS ARE SENT OUT BY HACKERS
THAT YOU HAVE WON X NUMBER OF DOLLARS. IN REALITY, THEY USE YOUR
PERSONAL INFORMATION AND TRY TO HACK INTO YOUR BANK ACCOUNTS AND
STEAL YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY.

8. CONCLUSION
SO AS THE TECHNOLOGY ADVANCEMENT HAS BEEN OBSERVED WE
HAVE ALSO EXPERIENCED A HUGE AMOUNT OF CYBER SECURITY
THREATS THAT ARE EXPOSED TO A SINGLE INDIVIDUAL AND AT
THE SAME TIME ORGANIZATIONS ARE ALSO AFFECTED. SO ONE
HAS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY UNDERSTAND THAT THEIR
PERSONAL INFORMATION IS VITAL AND AT ANY COST, IT
SHOULDN’T BE COMPROMISED. THE INDIVIDUALS SHOULD BE
EDUCATED AND TRAINED TO USE AT LEAST MINIMUM SECURITY
STANDARDS IN THEIR DAILY CHORUS.