1.

Viruses
A computer virus is what most of the media and regular end-users call every malware
program reported in the news. Fortunately, most malware programs aren't viruses. A
computer virus modifies other legitimate host files (or pointers to them) in such a
way that when a victim's file is executed, the virus is also executed.

Pure computer viruses are uncommon today, comprising less than 10% of all malware.
That's a good thing: Viruses are the only type of malware that "infects" other
files. That makes them particularly hard to clean up because the malware must be
executed from the legitimate program. This has always been nontrivial, and today
it's almost impossible. The best antivirus programs struggle with doing it
correctly and in many (if not most) cases will simply quarantine or delete the
infected file instead.

2. Worms
Worms have been around even longer than computer viruses, all the way back to
mainframe days. Email brought them into fashion in the late 1990s, and for nearly a
decade, computer security pros were besieged by malicious worms that arrived as
message attachments. One person would open a wormed email and the entire company
would be infected in short order.

The distinctive trait of the computer worm is that it's self-replicating. Take the
notorious Iloveyou worm: When it went off, it hit nearly every email user in the
world, overloaded phone systems (with fraudulently sent texts), brought down
television networks, and even delayed my daily afternoon paper for half a day.
Several other worms, including SQL Slammer and MS Blaster, ensured the worm's place
in computer security history.

What makes an effective worm so devastating is its ability to spread without end-
user action. Viruses, by contrast, require that an end-user at least kick it off,
before it can try to infect other innocent files and users. Worms exploit other
files and programs to do the dirty work. For example, the SQL Slammer worm used a
(patched) vulnerability in Microsoft SQL to incur buffer overflows on nearly every
unpatched SQL server connected to the internet in about 10 minutes, a speed record
that still stands today.

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3. Trojans
Computer worms have been replaced by Trojan malware programs as the weapon of
choice for hackers. Trojans masquerade as legitimate programs, but they contain
malicious instructions. They've been around forever, even longer than computer
viruses, but have taken hold of current computers more than any other type of
malware.

A Trojan must be executed by its victim to do its work. Trojans usually arrive via
email or are pushed on users when they visit infected websites. The most popular
Trojan type is the fake antivirus program, which pops up and claims you're
infected, then instructs you to run a program to clean your PC. Users swallow the
bait and the Trojan takes root.
Remote access Trojans (RATs) in particular have become popular among
cybercriminals. RATs allow the attacker to take remote control over the victim's
computer, often with the intent to move laterally and infect an entire network.
This type of Trojan is designed to avoid detection. Threat actors don't even need
to write their own. Hundred of off-the-shelf RATs are available in underground
marketplaces.

Trojans are hard to defend against for two reasons: They're easy to write (cyber
criminals routinely produce and hawk Trojan-building kits) and spread by tricking
end-users — which a patch, firewall, and other traditional defense cannot stop.
Malware writers pump out Trojans by the millions each month. Antimalware vendors
try their best to fight Trojans, but there are too many signatures to keep up with.

4. Hybrids and exotic forms

Today, most malware is a combination of traditional malicious programs, often
including parts of Trojans and worms and occasionally a virus. Usually the malware
program appears to the end-user as a Trojan, but once executed, it attacks other
victims over the network like a worm.

Many of today's malware programs are considered rootkits or stealth programs.

Essentially, malware programs attempt to modify the underlying operating system to
take ultimate control and hide from antimalware programs. To get rid of these types
of programs, you must remove the controlling component from memory, beginning with
the antimalware scan.

Bots are essentially Trojan/worm combinations that attempt to make individual

exploited clients a part of a larger malicious network. Botmasters have one or more
"command and control" servers that bot clients check into to receive their updated
instructions. Botnets range in size from a few thousand compromised computers to
huge networks with hundreds of thousands of systems under the control of a single
botnet master. These botnets are often rented out to other criminals who then use
them for their own nefarious purposes.

5. Ransomware
Malware programs that encrypt your data and hold it as hostage waiting for a
cryptocurrency pay off has been a huge percentage of the malware for the last few
years, and the percentage is still growing. Ransomware has often crippled
companies, hospitals, police departments, and even entire cities.

Most ransomware programs are Trojans, which means they must be spread through
social engineering of some sort. Once executed, most look for and encrypt users’
files within a few minutes, although a few are now taking a “wait-and-see”
approach. By watching the user for a few hours before setting off the encryption
routine, the malware admin can figure out exactly how much ransom the victim can
afford and also be sure to delete or encrypt other supposedly safe backups.

Ransomware can be prevented just like every other type of malware program, but once
executed, it can be hard to reverse the damage without a good, validated backup.
According to some studies, about a quarter of the victims pay the ransom, and of
those, about 30 percent still do not get their files unlocked. Either way,
unlocking the encrypted files, if even possible, takes particular tools, decryption
keys and more than a bit of luck. The best advice is to make sure you have a good,
offline backup of all critical files.

6. Fileless malware
Fileless malware isn’t really a different category of malware, but more of a
description of how they exploit and persevere. Traditional malware travels and
infects new systems using the file system. Fileless malware, which today comprises
over 50 percent of all malware and growing, is malware that doesn’t directly use
files or the file system. Instead they exploit and spread in memory only or using
other “non-file” OS objects such as registry keys, APIs or scheduled tasks.

Many fileless attacks begin by exploiting an existing legitimate program, becoming

a newly launched “sub-process,” or by using existing legitimate tools built into
the OS (like Microsoft’s PowerShell). The end result is that fileless attacks are
harder to detect and stop. If you aren’t already very familiar with common fileless
attack techniques and programs, you probably should be if you want a career in
computer security.

7. Adware
If you're lucky, the only malware program you've come in contact with is adware,
which attempts to expose the compromised end-user to unwanted, potentially
malicious advertising. A common adware program might redirect a user's browser
searches to look-alike web pages that contain other product promotions.

8. Malvertising
Not to be confused with adware, malvertising is the use of legitimate ads or ad
networks to covertly deliver malware to unsuspecting users’ computers. For example,
a cybercriminal might pay to place an ad on a legitimate website. When a user
clicks on the ad, code in the ad either redirects them to a malicious website or
installs malware on their computer. In some cases, the malware embedded in an ad
might execute automatically without any action from the user, a technique referred
to as a “drive-by download.”

Cybercriminals have also been known to compromise legitimate ad networks that

deliver ads to many websites. That’s often how popular websites such as the New
York Times, Spotify and the London Stock Exchange have been vectors for malicious
ads, putting their users in jeopardy.

The goal of cybercriminals who use malvertising is to make money, of course.

Malvertising can deliver any type of money-making malware, including ransomware,
cryptomining scripts or banking Trojans.

9. Spyware
Spyware is most often used by people who want to check on the computer activities
of loved ones. Of course, in targeted attacks, criminals can use spyware to log the
keystrokes of victims and gain access to passwords or intellectual property.

Adware and spyware programs are usually the easiest to remove, often because they
aren't nearly as nefarious in their intentions as other types of malware. Find the
malicious executable and prevent it from being executed — you're done.

A much bigger concern than the actual adware or spyware is the mechanism it used to
exploit the computer or user, be it social engineering, unpatched software, or a
dozen other root exploit causes. This is because although a spyware or adware
program’s intentions are not as malicious, as say, a backdoor remote access trojan,
they both use the same methods to break in. The presence of an adware/spyware
program should serve as a warning that the device or user has some sort of weakness
that needs to be corrected, before real badness comes calling.

Finding and removing malware

Unfortunately, finding and removing individual malware program components can be a
fool's errand. It's easy to get it wrong and miss a component. Plus, you don't know
whether the malware program has modified the system in such a way that it will be
impossible to make it completely trustworthy again.

Unless you're well trained in malware removal and forensics, back up the data (if
needed), format the drive, and reinstall the programs and data when you find
malware on a computer. Patch it well and make sure end-users know what they did
wrong. That way, you get a trustworthy computer platform and move ahead in the
fight without any lingering risks or questions.

[Editor's note: This article, originally published in September, 2014, has been
updated with new information on RATs and revised information on finding and
removing malware.]