A
Trojan Horse is a program that
infects your computer and allows a hacker to take control of
your machine behind your back. "A trojan infection can allow
total remote access to your computer by a third party."
Unlike virus
or worms, trojans
do not replicate themselves. In order to get infected you must, one
way or another, have downloaded and installed the program onto your
computer. This most commonly occurs when you download a
program that pretends to be one thing while it is actually
another. Enhancing the origin of the "Trojan Horse" name.
Many
people believe they are protected from trojans by their virus
software. Unfortunately most virus software has only limited
Trojan detection capabilities.
Problem
Description
There
are several programs going around that make any virus you have
seen to date seem like harmless child's play. These programs
will allow anyone on the Internet to remotely control your
computer! They can collect all your passwords, access all your
accounts including Email and PeopleSoft, read and modify all
your documents, publish your hard drive so its shared across
the Internet, record your keystrokes, look at your screen, and
listen to your conversations on your computer microphone.
You'll never know its happening
Consider
for a moment the implications of someone controlling your
computer. They would have access to any account you
access from your computer. If you access your employer's
systems, they could use those accounts to perform fraudulent
transactions. They could perform online stock or banking
transactions with your personal accounts. They could read your
email and send email in your name. They could use your
computer, as a stepping-stone to another computer in which case
you could be blamed.
Continued..
