February 09, 2010

Trojan horse

Last modified: Friday, August 18, 2006 

A destructive program that masquerades as a benign application. Unlike viruses, Trojan horses do not replicate themselves but they can be just as destructive. One of the most insidious types of Trojan horse is a program that claims to rid your computer of viruses but instead introduces viruses onto your computer.

The term comes from the a Greek story of the Trojan War, in which the Greeks give a giant wooden horse to their foes, the Trojans, ostensibly as a peace offering. But after the Trojans drag the horse inside their city walls, Greek soldiers sneak out of the horse's hollow belly and open the city gates, allowing their compatriots to pour in and capture Troy.

Trojan horses are broken down in classification based on how they breach systems and the damage they cause. The seven main types of Trojan horses are:

Also see The Difference Between a Virus, Worm and Trojan Horse  in the Did You Know? section of Webopedia.

  Related Links

eSecurity Planet 
A resource for daily information on e-security targeted to IT managers. The site provides users with information from a variety of sources, including experts at security product and services firms, and the consultants who follow the security industry.

SecurityTracker.com
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Open Networks Today
Networking news moves at a fast pace, and Open Networks Today lets you keep up with it. Open Networks Today offers its readers the ability to control how news is presented through customizing content filters, discussions, and news feed links.

Webopedia's "Did You Know?" Article
The Difference Between a Virus, Worm and Trojan Horse.

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