Spyware are a type of malware that are created solely for extracting personal user information as well as submitting the extracted information to their owner for their own use. Usually spywares are used to steal personal user information such as credit card number, password as well as track their computing habits.
Crimeware refers to a category of malware that are specifically used to aid criminal activities. They are used in a variety of forms key being as email redirectors where malwares are used to intercept and relay outgoing emails to an attacker’s system. Also crimeware are evident in IM (Instant manager) redirector where malware is used to intercept and relay outgoing instant messages to the attacker’s system. Other ways in which crimeware are deployed include through clicker where victims are redirected to a malicious site as well as transaction generator and session hijacking.
Adware’s on the other hand are usually used to post adverts, promotion alerts, offers and notices automatically usually via a pop up window even when the user isn’t interested. These programs normally infest the system through malicious sites that the usually visits. Many windows open at the same time in a simultaneous manner and this makes it hard close them; as such it becomes a nuisance to the user as it interrupts the users operations.
A bot refers to a type of malware such as Trojan, worm or spywares that enables an attacker have complete control of an infected machine. A computer system that has been infected in this case is often referred to as a drone. Bot can however be further categorized by virtue of their delivery mechanism. For instance we have a spam bot that is similar to an email virus or a mass-mailing worm that depends upon the victim’s action to activate it usually through opening an attachment affixed to a spam mail or by clicking a web link within a spam email that directs a user to a website where the bot is downloaded. The maliciousness of the bot clones occurs on a much wider scale when the bot clones replicate themselves and communicate with each other thereby creating a cooperative network of bots commonly referred to as a botnet.
Security audit
Computer access
This involves ensuring that passwords are complex and difficult to crack. It is also important that an access control list is in place having clear instructions on who has access and control to the shared data or network devices.
Data integrity and security
As media stored backup it is important to ascertain who has access and if the back-ups are up to date. It is also essential that wireless networks and their security settings and ports also have to be reviewed as well as router configurations in order to secure unwanted access.
Security Settings
Under this type of audit, it is important to ensure that all operating systems settings are in accordance with the accepted industry security practices. This also entails that all unnecessary applications and computer services have been eliminated from the system. Audit in this area should also seek to establish if custom-built applications have been built with security in mind or if they have been tested for security flaws.
