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Trojans
What is a Trojan?
Trojans are programs or software that mislead the user as to their true purpose. They are often malicious or harmful.
An example is a program you download from the internet which claims to be an image editor but in reality, when you open it, malware is spread onto your computer.
What do Trojans do?
- Creating backdoors: Trojans typically makes changes to your security system so that other malware or even a hacker can get in.
- Spying: Some Trojans are essentially Spyware designed to wait until you access your online accounts or enter your credit card details, and then send your passwords and other data back to their master.
- Turn your computer into a Zombie! sometimes, a hacker isn't interested in you, but just wants to use your computer as a slave in a network under his or her control.
- Send costly SMS messages: even smartphones get Trojans, and the most common way for criminals to make money is by using them to make your phone send costly SMS messages to premium numbers.
Importance for developers
As a developer it is particularly important to be aware of Trojans and how they spread. Trojans are often installed through "drive-by-downloads" on legitimate websites. If the attacker gains access to the hosting environment of your website they can make subtle changes to your code that cause the Trojan to be automatically downloaded by your website visitors.
What does a Trojan look like?
It can look like anything. Mostly files downloaded from untrusted website.
How do I protect myself against Trojans?
Staying away from untrusted web sites, pirated materials, and suspiciouse links. If you truly want to stay protected, you can use 3rd party softwares like anti-malware software.
More Information:
Trojan horse (computing) on Wikipedia
Trojan Horse Fundamentals - by AVG