Malware types

Malicious software, also called malware, is any software that is designed to perform
malicious acts. The following are the four classes of malware you should understand:

* Virus: Any malware that attaches itself to another application to replicate or distribute itself

* Worm: Any malware that replicates itself, meaning that it does not need another application or human interaction to propagate

* Trojan horse: Any malware that disguises itself as a needed application while carrying out malicious actions

* Spyware: Any malware that collects private user data, including browsing history or keyboard input

The best defense against malicious software is to implement antivirus and anti-malware software. Today most vendors package these two types of software in the same package. Keeping antivirus and anti-malware software up to date is vital. It includes ensuring that the latest virus and malware definitions are installed.


There are many free online malware scanner and one of them is Virus Total (a Google owned company). I tried to upload a sample malware (Vawtrak) for analysis and gave me the result below.

Another great online tool for checking the latest CVE and various exploits is the Exploit Database.