Website Builders.com

  • Home
  • Builder Reviews
        • Our team have carefully reviewed a selection of premium website building platform, making it easier for you to choose the right one.

          While most website builders are compatible for generic  website building, including online stores, blogs and generic websites, some are better than others depending on what your website type.

        • Website Builder Reviews

          GoDaddy

          IM Creator

          Jimdo

          Squarespace

          Voog

          Weebly

          Wix

          WordPress

        • Store Builder Reviews

          BigCommerce

          GoDaddy Store

          Shopify

          Weebly

          Wix

          Yola

        • Comparisons

          Wix vs. Weebly

          Shopify vs. BigCommerce

  • Start A Blog
  • How To Guides
        • With over 500 pages of detailed tutorials and guides, our guides cover a large chunk of online topics.

          Learn crafty tips and tricks to make your time online smooth. Our directory is useful for internet newbies, as well as aspiring website builders.

          Check out the full directory.

        • Building a Website

          How To Build a Website

          Name Your Website – Domain

          Picking a Web Hosting Service

          Content and User Experience

          More

        • Searching and Research

          Searching the Web

          Doing Research Online

          The World of Wiki

          Finding Videos Online

          More

        • E-mails – Basics and Advanced

          Getting Started

          Sending an E-mail Message

          Opening Attachments

          Sending Attachments

          More

        • Social Media & Communication

          Instant Messaging

          Online Networking

          Facebook

          LinkedIn

          More

        • Files, Downloads, Software & Installs

          File Formats and Extensions

          Install Plug-Ins

          How to Download Files

          Downloading Software

          More

        • Making Money Online

          Making Money with Facebook

          Affiliate Marketing

          Virtual Assistant

          Writing Articles

          More

        • Online Shopping

          10 Tips for Smart and Safe Shopping

          Smart Shopping

          Protecting Personal Information

          Looking for Discounts

          More

  • Website Builder Tools Your Business Can’t Do Without (+ Links To Useful Resources)
    • HTML Character Codes
    • Advertiser Tracking Cookies: There ARE Ways To Opt Out – Here’s How
    • Website Glossary
  • Our Blog
        • Recent Posts

          When you have awesome writers, it is easy to spread wisdom. Take a look at some of our recent posts on various internet and website related topics.

          Have any suggestions on topics? Don’t hold back, send us your ideas:

          [email protected]

        • 12 Simple Rules on How to Use E-mail Politely

          Live Chat Software: Is it Worth It? Facebook Says Yes.

          Algorithmic Warfare: Is it the Beginning or the End?

          How to Promote Your Pet Business Online

          DIY Marketing: 7 Steps for any Business Owner

        • 20 Ideas to Generate Your First Online Sale

          Complete Guide to Content Marketing

          8 Best Free Photo Editors for Product Photosraphy

          Press Kits: DIY to Free Media Hype

          Why Backlinks are Essential for SEO – How To Build Them

  • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • FAQ
    • How Did You Make This Site?
    • How the Website Is Funded
    • Our Team
You are here: Home / The Complete List Of How-To Tutorials For Internet Dummies / The Interactive Glossary: Defining the Net / Trojan Horse Definition | The Interactive Glossary

Trojan Horse Definition | The Interactive Glossary

Disclosure: Your support helps keep the site running! We earn a referral fee for some of the services we recommend on this page. Learn more

Contents

  • 1 Trojan Horse
  • 2 Frequently Asked Questions
    • 2.1 What do malware authors hope to gain by spreading a Trojan?
    • 2.2 Is a Trojan horse a type of virus?
    • 2.3 How are computers infected by Trojans?
    • 2.4 How can Trojans be avoided?
  • 3 Glossary Index

Trojan Horse

A trojan horse is a malicious computer program that disguises itself as a useful or routine file in order to trick a user to install it.

Trojan horses, sometimes simply referred to as Trojans, derive their name from the story of the wooden horse that allowed Greek troops to invade the city of Troy undetected. Just like the wooden horse in the story, Trojans deceive users into lowering their defenses and voluntarily welcoming and installing the invading malicious code onto their system. Once the malicious code has been installed damage may be done to the hard disk, information and data may be stolen, or the Trojan author may be able to gain unauthorized access to the infected system.

Also See: Computer Virus, Worm, Botnet

Frequently Asked Questions

What do malware authors hope to gain by spreading a Trojan?

Trojans are often used to create a backdoor into a computer system with the author can use for a variety of nefarious purposes including screen scraping, webcam hijacking, ID and data theft, installation of ransomware, adding the infected machine to a botnet, or general mayhem and destruction of hard drive contents.

Is a Trojan horse a type of virus?

The three primary categories of malware are viruses, worms, and Trojan horses. What all three have in common is that they are malicious programs that can damage your computer and may use your computer for unauthorized activities. One of the things that differentiate Trojans from the other types of malware is that Trojans exist as a standalone application that attempts to trick users into thinking it is a useful application of system utility and authorize installation knowingly or unknowingly. In addition, Trojans do not self-replicate, while both worms and viruses do.

How are computers infected by Trojans?

In most cases, Trojans are spread through social engineering: manipulating users into allowing a file to be downloaded and installed onto a computer system. There are two primary techniques Trojan authors use to spread their wares:

  • E-mail: Trojans are often attached to e-mail messages and named things that would make you think they are not suspicious. If the attachment is opened the Trojan will be executed, and the system will be infected.
  • Drive-by download: Websites that cause a file to download to a computer without the visitors knowledge are called drive-by downloads. Websites that are involved in this type of activity may cause a pop-up to appear, designed to look like a system notification, stating that the system is infected. If the user follows the instructions in the window the Trojan will be downloaded and installed on the system.

How can Trojans be avoided?

First, never open any e-mail attachment that comes from a source you don’t know or trust. Second, keep antivirus software installed on your computer, updated, and run regular system scans. Third, install updates to your operating system as soon as they are released. These updates often include patches to fix vulnerabilities. Fourth, use a firewall; there’s one built into modern versions of most operating systems, just make sure it’s activated. Fifth, if you do encounter a problem, run multiple antivirus program scans to ensure the infection is cleaned up, and consider reinstalling your operating system to remove every trace of malware.


Glossary Index

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Latest Posts

Hosting

Black Friday 2023: Website Builder & Web Hosting Deals For Webmasters [Updated]

Uncategorized

Why WebsiteBuilders.com Got Hacked (Yes, You Can Blame Social Warfare)

E-mail Internet

E-Mail Etiquette: 12 Basic Rules For Politely Using E-Mail

Marketing social networking

Live Chat Software: Should You Invest In It? (It’s Easier Than You Think)

Computer Science

Never Heard Of Algorithmic Warfare? Then You’d Better Read This

Marketing

How To Successfully Promote Your Pet Business Online With Minimum Effort

Most Popular Reviews

  • Website Builder Reviews
  • Wix
  • Weebly
  • Squarespace
  • GoDaddy Website Builder
  • Shopify

Recent Posts

  • Black Friday 2023: Website Builder & Web Hosting Deals For Webmasters [Updated] November 5, 2019
  • Why WebsiteBuilders.com Got Hacked (Yes, You Can Blame Social Warfare) March 23, 2019
  • E-Mail Etiquette: 12 Basic Rules For Politely Using E-Mail November 15, 2017

About WebsiteBuilders.com

Everything you need to know about the WebsiteBuilders.com team.

About Us

Our Team

How The Website Is Funded

Privacy Policy

© 2017-2022 Website Builders.com | Sitemap