Whether it’s a simple computer virus or a more sophisticated malware infection, these programs are designed to exploit systems and devices to the benefit of their creators. malware virus detection can be delivered through a variety of physical and virtual methods including USB drives, popular collaboration tools or drive-by downloads (which automatically install software on systems without the user’s knowledge or consent). The most obvious symptom of a malware infection is reduced performance — the system runs slower than usual and seemingly random programs may run in the background. Other symptoms include internet homepage changes or pop-up ads appearing more frequently than normal. Hackers who use malware can also capture data, including personal and financial information, from infected computers and then pass that info to other hackers.
Detecting Threats: Malware Virus Detection Techniques
Although the terms “virus” and “malware” are often used interchangeably, they’re two very different things. Viruses are the oldest type of malware, and they’re able to self-replicate in files and applications by inserting their code into them. Viruses can also disable certain system functions, modify applications or delete files.
Other types of malware are RATs (Remote Administration Tools) that enable a threat actor to control an infected system, Trojan horses that masquerade as legitimate software and spy on the system’s activity or ransomware, which encrypts a device’s data and forces users to pay cybercriminals to decrypt it. A malware scanning program will be able to detect these and many other malicious threats, as well as some that have slipped through anti-virus protections.