Information on Trojan Horse Viruses

A Trojan horse virus is a virus that is hidden inside computer software that appears harmless. When the software is installed, it infects the computer with a virus.

Identification

Unless security software is installed on the computer, it is difficult to identify a Trojan horse virus until it is too late. Often, it is the ill effects suffered from the virus that lead the user to search for the source.

Risk Factors

It is important to be wary when downloading free software over the Internet, especially when the software claims to provide functionality that would normally be found in very expensive products. Such software has a high risk of containing a Trojan horse virus, as does illegally copied software.

Effects

Trojan horse viruses can be very damaging to a computer. Some may cause the computer to crash, while others silently monitor the user's keystrokes, transmitting them to the creator of the virus, who hopes to steal financial information or other private data.

Prevention/Solution

All high-quality computer security solutions should guard the computer against most known Trojan horse viruses. Some examples include Norton Antivirus, McAfee, AVG and NOD32.

Fun Fact

Welchia was the name of a rare example of a helpful Trojan horse virus, discovered in 2003. When it "infected" a computer, it forced the computer to download several updates for Windows, which helped to prevent future virus infections. After some time, the virus would delete itself.

References

• What is a Trojan horse virus?
• Trojan horse removal
• Trojan horse virus