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Trojan horse viruses can put your computer at risk and cause your system to slow down or crash. How are they admitted inside?
One of the most enduring stories of the Trojan War, the most important conflict in Greek mythology, is the story of the Trojan horse. While trying to find his way to the city of Troy, the great warrior Odysseus ordered his men to build a massive wooden horse large enough to hold several Greek soldiers. When the building was finished, he and several other warriors climbed inside. while the rest of the Greeks sailed from Troy. However, one man named Sinon stayed behind to trick the Trojans into convincing them that his fellow Greeks had betrayed him and fled the city. He told the Trojans that the wooden horse was safe and would bring them good luck.
After some discussion of the matter, the Trojans agreed to drive the horse through their gates, unknowingly giving the Greek enemy access to the city. After proclaiming victory and partying all night, the people of Troy fell asleep - that's when Odysseus and his men crawled out of the Trojan horse and wreaked havoc on the city.
While you have probably heard of Trojan horses from Greek mythology, most likely you have also heard of Trojan horses in relation to computers. Trojan horses- common but dangerous programs that hide inside other seemingly harmless programs. They work in the same way as the ancient Trojan horse: once installed, the program will infect other files on your system and potentially damage your computer. They can even send important information from your computer over the Internet to the virus developer. The developer can then actually take control of your computer, slowing down your system or causing your machine to crash.
Although they are not really viruses, they are called "Trojan viruses", "Trojan viruses", "Trojan horses" or simply "Trojans". No matter what they are called, they all mean the same thing. But what happened? How did you get this Trojan horse into your computer at all? And what can you do to avoid getting there?
Trojan horse protection
What would Laocoon and Kassandra do? The two Trojans that warned their people against the suspicious wooden horse are likely to detect any suspicious email attachments and then get rid of them.
So how do Trojan horses infect computers? Believe it or not, you will have to do some of the work yourself. In order for the Trojan to infect your machine, you need to install the server side of the application. This is usually done through social engineering - the Trojan horse author must convince you to download the application. Alternatively, he or she can send you the program in an email message, hoping that you will run it. Again, this is why it is called a Trojan horse - you must knowingly or unknowingly run the .exe file to install the program - it does not spread by itself like a virus (see How computer viruses work for a description of Trojans and viruses). After starting the program, the Trojan server is installed and launched automatically every time the computer is turned on.
Most often, Trojan horses are spread via email attachments. The developers of these applications typically use spamming techniques to send hundreds or even thousands of emails to unsuspecting people; the systems of those who open messages and download attachments are infected.
Sometimes malware does not even spread to a person, but to your computer if it is already infected. Crackers - hackers who use their computer skills to harm or intentionally inflict damage - can send out Trojans that turn innocent web surfers' computers into zombie computers, so called, because a person with an infected computer rarely knows that his system is under control. The attackers then use these zombie computers to send out new viruses, eventually creating networks of zombie computers known as botnets .
There are several ways to protect yourself from Trojan horses. The easiest way is to never open emails or download attachments from unknown senders. Simply deleting these messages will take care of the situation. Installing antivirus software will also scan every file you download (even if it belongs to someone you know) and protect you from any malware. If you ever find that your computer is infected with a Trojan horse, you should disconnect your internet connection and delete the corresponding files using an anti-virus program or reinstalling the operating system. If you need help, you can call your computer manufacturer, your local computer store, or a friend you know.
