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Overview

Malware is an umbrella term for various types of malicious software. This term encompasses Viruses, Worms, Trojans, Adware, and more. Common symptoms of a malware infection include slow computer performance; difficulty registering or accessing the network; the inability to run software updates or anti-virus software, and unexplained pop-up warnings, errors, or ads. This article will review some basic information about various types of malware, how to recognize it, and what to do about it.

Student-owned computers suspected of having any kind of malware infection can be dropped off free of charge at the ITS Helpdesk from 8 am–5 pm Monday–Friday.

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Types of Malware

Virus

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What is it?

  • Malicious program that attaches itself to a legitimate file or program (the Host).
  • Infects machine when host file is run or opened.
  • Typically cannot run itself, needs human intervention.

What does it do?

  • Harmless as presenting “I’m here!”
  • Dangerous as deleting files.
  • Trigger immediately or wait for instructions or wait for a specific date.

How does it spread?

  • Via any files that move between computers (e.g. email).
  • Once on machine, looks for files to infect.
  • Relies on user transmission of those files.



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Have active and up-to-date anti-malware software: Anti-malware software is important in keeping your personal machine safe and usable. We believe that the default anti-virus programs on personal machines, Windows Defender and macOS built in defenses, are sufficient at keeping your laptop clean. A helpful addition would be to download a free scanning software, such as Malwarebytes, to run a full scan of your machine every week. We believe those two things in tandem should keep your computer virus free.

There are more extensive, all-in-one tools which you can purchase, often on a subscription model. If you choose such a tool, you must ensure that you keep the subscription up-to-date. If you don't, the software will stop updating itself and will be unable to detect the most recent malware releases and variations.

Pause and consider links and downloads before clicking and installing: Even trusted sources sometimes get hacked and can provide infected content. Take a moment and think about how likely it is that the action you're about to take will be safe—were you expecting that attachment? Do you really need that software to do what you're doing?

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