Whats Is Malware - Malware Types & History
In today's article, I will tell you what it is malware Any software that can cause any kind of damage to your system or any attack or hacker can use it for any kind of malicious purpose is called Malware.
There are many types of malware and malware is used for many tasks
In the past, malware was used only to harm most computers, but today, the use of malware has become more advanced, and now most of the malware is used for financial gain.
History of Malware
The history of malware is very interesting. The first malware in the world was created in the 1970s, which we also know as the creeper worm.
It was created by those who used to work in BBN
It was a very simple malware that used to show only a message that had Creeper Worm written on it. After that, the first mainstream virus was created by two brothers from Pakistan. Their name was Basit and Amjad Farooq Alvi. These two brothers were very geniuses. They were software developers and used to sell their software to outsiders. It is also said that people used to bypass their licenses and sell the software to other companies, which caused them to suffer a lot of losses. As a solution, if anyone were to resell their software, their computer would be infected with a virus.
He named this virus brain virus and this virus was created in 1986
Difference Between Brain Virus and Creeper Virus
Although there was not much difference between the two viruses, both aimed to infect the computer and spread themselves, there was a clear difference in the way they spread, where a creeper copied itself and spread on the ARPANET. While brain throws moved from one computer to another, the way the brain virus propagated itself was a little different. It used to spread to the computers via floppy disks
Types Of Malware
Viruses
Viruses attach themselves to legitimate programs and infect systems. They mostly aim to damage files and spread themselves to other systems. They often require user interaction. You can take clear examples of the creeper virus and a brain virus
Worms
Worms, self-spread like sending mail to others by attaching themselves by themselves or uploading themselves to any internet site. They were mostly used in the past, but now their use is much less because of the inline cloud on the internet. Security has increased a lot
Trojan
Trojans often present themselves as legitimate software but often have malicious code inside them. Trojans can create backdoors to re-infect the system, They mostly give remote access to the attacker.
Ransomware
Ransomware is a very interesting type of malware it just enters into the system and encrypts all the data of the system and mostly they spread widely. It is always used for financial damage. After all the data is encrypted, the developer of Ransomware or the threat actor sitting behind it gives the decryption to you but in return, you have to pay him a sum of money.
Spyware
Another interesting example of Spyware Malware is Spyware. It always stays in the system secretly and secretly monitors the system activities and its sensitive information like passwords of system keystrokes and so on and so on. Used for malicious purposes today, spyware has been combined with most Trojans.
Adware
Adware was mostly used in the past where once installed on the system, it is displayed to a lot of unwanted or spammy advertisements that generate revenue for the attacker. Hirers used to show their ads to people so that people would know about them but today this thing has been stopped because there are strict laws against it and people want to block ads anyway. Different software like ad blockers and antiviruses have started to be used and people don't even trust such ads anymore so this method of advertisement has stopped.
Keylogger
A key logger is a very interesting type of malware that only tracks passwords or your keystrokes, meaning every time you type a key on the keyboard it stores it along with the time and so on. Sometimes when you type your password, it also stores it. Loggers are used as hardware and also as software.
Rootkits
A rootkit is malware that infects a system in such a way that the system does not even know it is infected. It gives remote access to the threat actor while being fully hidden in the root of the system.
Faq About Malwares
Q1: What is malware?
A1: Malware is any software designed to cause damage to a system or be used maliciously by hackers for various purposes.
Q2: When was the first malware created, and what was its name?
A2: The first malware, known as the creeper worm, was created in the 1970s. It displayed a simple message with the text "Creeper Worm."
Q3: Who created the first mainstream virus, and what was it called?
A3: Basit and Amjad Farooq Alvi, two brothers from Pakistan, created the first mainstream virus in 1986, known as the Brain virus.
Q4: What is the difference between the Creeper virus and the Brain virus?
A4: Both viruses aimed to infect and spread on computers, but Creeper spread through ARPANET, while Brain propagated via floppy disks.
Q5: Can you explain the types of malware mentioned in the article?
A5: Certainly. The types of malware discussed include Viruses (attach to legitimate programs), Worms (self-spread via mail or internet sites), Trojans (disguised as legitimate software), Ransomware (encrypts data for financial gain), Spyware (monitors system activities), Adware (displays unwanted advertisements), Keylogger (tracks keystrokes), and Rootkits (hidden malware providing remote access).
