A trojan horse is malicious software that pretends to be something it is not. Trojan horses can come in many forms, such as an app or a piece of malware pretending to be both useful and fun things for you. The term trojan is derived from the ancient Greek legend. After a futile battle against the independent city of Troy, the Greeks left a huge wooden horse outside the city’s entrance, which was accepted as a peace offering by the inhabitants, who took it inside. Later that night, Greek soldiers came out of the hollow structure and lay waste to the city.
Cybercriminals are masters at psychological manipulation. They use trojan horse malware to convince people that their device is safe, but in reality, the malware begins to gain access and monitor everything as soon as it is installed and stays active as long as the device has power. More importantly, all of your data that you send across communication channels, including emails, passwords, pictures, voice notes, calendar appointments, work projects, bank account information, credit card numbers, etc. are at the risk of being exposed to people intending to sell this information or use it in criminal activities.
One might wonder how and why do people fall prey to such malware and allow them access to their system in the first place. The answer is simple; the malware is so cleverly disguised that even the most vigilant computer users are deceived most of the time.
Social engineering is a psychological technique hackers use to manipulate innocent users into downloading malware and infecting their devices. A common trick, for example, is to convince the victim that clicking on an app will get them access to free music or movies. Another technique used is a phishing email, where you may receive an email containing the link to the malware download from a seemingly trusted source. For example, hackers may impersonate your bank and send you an email with a link to download your monthly statement. Finally, scareware is a type of warning that pops up out of nowhere, cautioning the user that their device is under threat and offering a solution (i.e., the disguised malware).
Once the trojan starts running, it secretly installs itself into other files on your machines or begins sending information about what kinds of programs are installed to the hackers who might use this information to steal your precious financial data or other intellectual property.
We hope this blog post was informative, and you will think twice in the future before installing any software from unknown sources. If you want to read articles on similar topics, please visit our website.
