Just like how everyone people may try to steal on the streets, people also do that on the internet as well. How people act online after all is usually just a mirror of how they act in real life - the internet just has a tendency to magnify malicious and extreme behaviour. Two malicious behaviours we'll focus on in this sement is malware and scams.
What is malware?
Malware is a general term for malicious software that is designed to hurt a device (such as a computer), a service, and/or a network. Malware is often used for compromising a device's security and gaining access to stuff like personal data (for identity theft) or banking information (for monetary gain).
What are scams?
A scam is fradulent behaviour, which can include a deceptive scheme or tricking someone out of something. It is similar to malware in that it's usually a malicious act done for some form of monetary or personal gain. The two terms also have considerable overlap, as a lot of malware is scam.
Examples of malware and scams
- Virus: Comes in an attachment (or file) that infects a device when the attachment is opened. This leads to the virus taking more malicious actions.
- Ransomware: This is where a malware installs itself onto a person's device, encrypts their data so they can't access it anymore, and demands "random," often in the form of Bitcoin to return the user's data.
- Scareware: This is where a program scares the user into thinking "Your computer is infected" or "You need to do this to save your personal information. This is scare tactic used to get the user to install malware on their laptop or perhaps give the scammer money, with the victim believing the scammer is actually trying to help them.
- Spyware: A program installed on a device, often secretly, that tracks a user's behaviour and what they do on their device.
- Trojan: The name comes from the Trojan Horse in Greek mythology. Trojans seem like non-malicious applications but once they are downloaded, they perform malicious behaviour. Essentially, programs that tricky you into thinking they are normal/good when in reality, they are there to harm you, your data, or your device.
- Phishing: When a website or application tries to steal your data by having you enter personal information on a website that seems legit. Often, these websites/applications look very close to normal ones the user already uses.
- Social engineering: Psychological manipulation that tricks the user into giving away sensitive information, which can be used for compromising their accounts.