Basics of malware
Before we learn about detecting malware, let us briefly understand what exactly malware is and how it works.
What is malware?
Malware is simply any malicious software. It will install itself on your device (such as a computer, tablet, or smartphone) and operate in the background, often without your knowledge. It is designed to quietly change files on your device, and thus steal or corrupt sensitive information. Malware is generally camouflaged and pretends to be an otherwise innocent application. For example, a browser extension that offers free emojis can actually be malware that is secretly reading your passwords and siphoning them off to a third party.
Devices can be infected by malware in multiple ways. Here are some of the popular vectors attackers exploit to deliver malware to a user device:
- Leveraging the premise of “free” software, such as a cracked version of expensive software such as Adobe Photoshop
- USB devices with the...
