Trojans, also known as a Trojan Horse, are one of the leading reasons people seek cyber security in Miami. These malicious programs are designed to cause significant damage to your system or steal information. But what exactly are trojans and how can you protect yourself from them?
What are Trojans?
Trojan “viruses” are really a form of malware, and instead of downloading a harmless file, the user ends up with a form of malware. The malicious extent of the trojan will vary greatly depending on the type of trojan downloaded.
Types of Trojans
Trojans continue to evolve and change, and the goal is to always infect a system using stealth and for the threat to go undetected. Most trojans will fall into the following types of threats:
- Backdoor trojans, or those that infect your system and then create a backdoor for a hacker. These trojans are among the worst because they allow someone to gain control of your computer, upload and download files, and even execute any file they wish on your device.
- Banker trojans are amongst the most concerning because they target your financial data. For example, these trojans will log your banking information so that they can access your accounts or sell login information to others.
- Downloaders are a type of trojan that will begin downloading additional malware to a device.
- DDoS trojans are another style of trojan that will aim to flood networks with requests in an effort to disrupt services.
- Exploit trojans will inject code into your device in an effort to exploit software. The code will leverage any weaknesses found in the software.
- Rootkit trojans are amongst the worst because they will work in unison with other malicious malware on a device. The goal is the rootkit is to prevent other malicious malware from being found so that it can cause maximum damage to the system.
Often, malware like this will have a negative impact on systems, causing them to slow and even exhibit strange behavior. While some of the most serious trojans are advanced and run without disrupting systems, others will cause you to experience popups and even send out email spam.
Protecting Against Trojans
Protecting against malware and trojans requires you to be proactive and follow best practices. A few of the ways that you can begin protecting against trojans today include:
- Install real-time malware and virus protection to identify, quarantine and remove the threat
- Download files only from trusted sources and people
- Update systems and software routinely; businesses should have strict update policies in place
- Scan all emails for threats to identify files that contain trojans and block them from being installed
Taking a proactive approach to stop trojans from infecting your system or device is always the best course of action. It's always more challenging and expensive to remove a trojan after infection occurs.
If you need assistance with cybersecurity in Miami, we can help. Our team has decades of combined experience helping people just like you protect against trojans. We'll put basic measures in place, email scanning and more, to protect you from trojans.