The evolution of malware

The name “Malware” applies to a lot of different types of malicious software. A malware can have various undesirable effects, such as slowing down your PC, sending unsolicited e-mails to everyone in your address book, etc. What’s more, malwares can tap into critical system resources and shut down your PC or worst of all, scan through your hard disk and look for sensitive data, especially credit card information.

Malwares have evolved greatly over the years, with each new generation being more harmful than the preceding one. The first generation malwares bordered on the threshold of being “innocently annoying”, and were mere pranks pulled by intelligent kids. These malwares would reach your PC through an attachment with an absolutely innocent-looking e-mail. When you clicked on the attachment, the malware would launch, sending a copy of the same e-mail to every person in your address book. Suffice to say, the creators of these had no other malicious intent than to simply fill up your e-mail storage space. Even the earliest antivirus solutions, such as FPROT, could stop these malwares dead in their tracks.

The next generation was more sinister in its motive. The motto of the creators had been altered from simply getting some fun to earning truckloads of cash. This was the time of birth of quite a few companies, which are often looked upon by many as the first organizations to propagate spyware in an “official” manner. Those were dark days for PC users who connected their PCs to the internet and stared at the screen with an expression of abject horror, as dozens of pop up ads appearing every 5 minutes or so made working on the internet nigh impossible. What’s worse, some of the notable antivirus producers admitted their inability to track and intercept the signatures of most of these malwares.

The PC users in present time are often plagued by third generation malwares, which have evolved from being “mildly annoying” to “severely damaging” varieties, thanks largely to the hackers and rogue programmers having superior technology literally at their fingertips. Malwares now target specific information stored within the hard drive of the PCs that these infect. The information is mostly of the sensitive kind, with special attention towards information related to credit cards, that you might have stored in your PC.

The most dangerous fact about present generation of malwares is that these are often undetectable by antivirus software. Special spyware and malware removal tools are required to clean your PC once these malicious programs infect it. Keep a malware removal tool installed in your PC and update it regularly. Scan your PC at least once a week with these tools to make sure that you are safe from these dangerous “netizens”.