Trojan horse (computing)

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This article refers to a form of malware in computing terminology. For other
meanings, see Trojan Horse (disambiguation)

The Trojan horse, also known as trojan, in the context of computing and software,
describes a class of computer threats (malware) that appears to perform a desirable
function but in fact performs undisclosed malicious functions that allow unauthorized
access to the host machine, giving them the ability to save their files on the user's
computer or even watch the user's screen and control the computer.

Trojan viruses can be easily and unwillingly downloaded. For example, if a computer
game is designed such that, when executed by the user, it opens a back door that allows a
hacker to control the computer of the user, then the computer game is said to be a Trojan
horse. However, if the computer game is legitimate, but was infected by a virus, then it is
not a Trojan horse, regardless of what the virus may do when the game is executed. The
term is derived from the classical story of the Trojan Horse.

Contents
[hide]

• 1 Example
• 2 Types of Trojan horse payloads
• 3 Methods of deletion
• 4 Rogue Infiltrants
• 5 See also
o 5.1 Notable instances
• 6 References

• 7 External links

[edit] Example
A program named "waterfalls.scr" serves as a simple example of a Trojan horse.

The author claims it is a free waterfall screen saver. When running, it instead unloads
hidden programs, scripts, or any number of commands without the user's knowledge or
consent. Malicious trojan horse programs conceal and drop a malicious payload on an
affected computer.
[edit] Types of Trojan horse payloads
Trojan horse payloads are almost always designed to cause harm, but can also be
harmless. They are classified based on how they breach and damage systems. The six
main types of Trojan horse payloads are:

• Remote Access
• Data Destruction
• Downloader/dropper
• Server Trojan(Proxy, FTP , IRC, Email, HTTP/HTTPS, etc.)
• Disable security software
• Denial-of-service attack (DoS)

[edit] Methods of deletion

Since Trojan horses have a variety of forms, there is no single method to delete them. The
simplest responses involve clearing the temporary internet files file and deleting it
manually. Normally, antivirus software is able to detect and remove the trojan
automatically. If the antivirus cannot find it, booting the computer from alternate media,
such as a live CD, may allow an antivirus program to find a trojan and delete it. Updated
anti-spyware programs are also efficient against this threat. Most trojans also hide in
registries and processes.

[edit] Rogue Infiltrants

Viruses that are displayed as "Anti-Virus programs" are known as Rogue Viruses. Rogue
viruses have the prime intention of collecting money from a victim, and/or harming his or
her computer with infections. The infections installed with rogue viruses make the user's
computer slow, so they actually believe an infection exists, which in fact, it does. Trojan
viruses differ because the prime intention of trojan viruses is to damage the computer and
overload the Random Access Memory of the computer.

[edit] See also

• List of trojan horses
• Privacy-invasive software
• Spy software
• Farewell Dossier
• Malware
• Secure computing
• Social engineering (security)
• Remote administration tool
• Employee monitoring software
• Botnets
 • Spam
• Spyware

[edit] Notable instances

• Back Orifice
• NetBus
• Zlob
• Pest Trap
• ProRat
• Sub7
• Vundo

[edit] References
[edit] External links
• Analysis of targeted trojan e-mail attacks
• Trojan horses and how they are used en-masse in botnets Virus Bulletin's The
World of Botnets by Dr Alan Solomon and Gadi Evron

[hide]
v•d•e
Botnets

Main articles Botnet · Computer worm · Malware · Malbot · Operation: Bot Roast

Storm botnet · Kraken botnet · Srizbi botnet · Mega-D botnet ·

Notable botnets
Conficker
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trojan_horse_(computing)"
Categories: Trojan horses | Social engineering (computer security) | WikiProject
Computer Security articles

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• This page was last modified on 26 February 2009, at 21:16.

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