Most people who think they know all about spyware, Trojans,
viruses, and other malware really don't. Take
this quiz to make sure you know who your enemies are.
This quiz tests your knowledge of five of the most common
kinds of malware, the software you don't want on your
computer: Trojan, worm, virus, spyware, and adware.
Keep in mind that there are at least seven other kinds
of malware we know about.
The answers are located at the end of the quiz.
1. Which of the following is most likely to make
your computer stop working?
a. Trojan
b. Worm
c. Virus
d. Spyware
e. Adware
2. Which of
the following is not a stand-alone program?
a. Trojan
b. Worm
c. Virus
d. Spyware
e. Adware
3. Which of
the following is most likely to send spam emails from
your computer?
a. Trojan
b. Worm
c. Virus
d. Spyware
e. Adware
4. Which of
the following is least likely to be detected with standard
antivirus software?
a. Trojan
b. Worm
c. Virus
d. Spyware
e. Adware
5. Which of
the following is most likely to come with other malware?
a. Trojan
b. Worm
c. Virus
d. Spyware
e. Adware
6. Which of
the following is bundled with the peer-to-peer file-sharing
software, Kazaa?
a. Trojan
b. Worm
c. Virus
d. Spyware
e. Adware
7. Which of
the following is most likely to install a "backdoor"
internet connection?
a. Trojan
b. Worm
c. Virus
d. Spyware
e. Adware
8. Which of
the following is most likely to be involved in a denial-of-service
attack?
a. Trojan
b. Worm
c. Virus
d. Spyware
e. Adware
9. Which of
the following is the only malware publicly documented
as having been employed by the FBI to bring a suspect
to trial?
a. Trojan
b. Worm
c. Virus
d. Spyware
e. Adware
10. Which of
the following is most likely to steal your identity?
a. Trojan
b. Worm
c. Virus
d. Spyware
e. Adware
Answers:
1. c. virus. Trojans, worms, spyware, and adware
all depend on your computer staying up and running.
They use your computer's resources to accomplish whatever
their designer intended, such as sending emails, displaying
advertising, or stealing information from your computer.
Viruses, however, are usually created by vandals who
just want to damage as many computers as possible.
2. c. virus.
Viruses are not stand-alone programs. Just as
biological viruses must take over the cells of their
host in order to function and reproduce; computer viruses
must take over one or more files of the computer on
which they are stored. Trojans, worms, spyware,
and adware are all stand-alone programs that can run
without the help of another application, though they
often come bundled with other applications as a decoy,
or with other malware.
3. b. worm.
Worms are stand-alone programs that are often used to
send spam emails, or emails containing viruses.
Trojans often contain worms which are then installed
for the purpose of sending spam emails, but the worms
are what actually send the emails.
4. e. adware.
In the strictest sense, adware is rarely patently illegal
or destructive, and so antivirus software makers have
traditionally avoided treating it as malware.
Adware designers are usually large advertising companies
with hundreds of millions of dollars, and they take
care to insert end-user licensing agreements (EULA)
that supposedly mean that the software is installed
with permission. Also, adware will not usually
do anything more destructive than show advertising.
Nonetheless, adware can quickly multiply on a computer,
hogging system resources and causing a computer to slow
down or even malfunction. That's why most anti-spyware
software makers target adware as well.
5. a. Trojan.
By definition, Trojans bear other malware within them,
just as the mythical wooden worse bore Greek warriors.
The malware can be viruses, worms, spyware, or adware.
6. e. adware,
though d. spyware, is also correct. Kazaa's developers,
Sharman Networks, make most of their money from the
advertising shown by the included adware. The
adware typically runs even when the Kazaa software is
not in use. Sharman Networks has adamantly denied
that the adware that comes with Kazaa is spyware, since,
like most adware, it comes with an end-user license
agreement that says the user grants permission for the
software to be installed. In reality, few Kazaa
users, until recently, were aware of just how much adware
was being installed on their machines (as much as a
dozen or more). Plus, the adware does monitor
your internet usage, and so is spyware in the strictest
sense.
7. b. worm.
Worms most commonly install a "backdoor" internet connection
in order to send out data (for instance, spam emails
or requests to remote servers) undetected.
8. b. worm.
Worms, which most commonly install a "backdoor" internet
connection on the host computer, are perfect for sending
out the millions of server requests needed to achieve
a denial-of-service attack. A denial-of-service
attack is when a server is maliciously sent so many
hits that it is overwhelmed and cannot continue to operate.
9. a. Trojan.
The Trojan "Magic Lantern" was famously used to install
monitoring software on the computer of a suspect who
was later brought to trial partly on the strength of
the evidence gathered.
10. e. Spyware.
Spyware is malware that collects information from your
computer and sends it to another remote machine, so
by definition any software that steals your identity
is spyware. However, spyware is often installed
on your computer by a Trojan, or sent to you by another
computer infected with a worm, so other kinds of malware
pose an indirect threat of identity theft as well.
About
the author: Joel Walsh writes for spyware-refuge.com
about spyware, viruses, Trojans, adware, worms, and
other malware: http://www.spyware-refuge.com/?%20Computer%20Viruses |
