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What is a Trojan & How Does it Affect Your Computer? A Trojan, also called a Trojan Horse, is a software program in disguise. It is usually a piece of malicious software or code in something unsuspicious you download from the internet, or receive as an email attachment. For example, you could download something like fontname.zip, believing it to be a legitimate font download, or games.zip, believing it to be a set of games that has been zipped for size issues. The trojan is somehow embedded in the zip file, arriving silently, but once it is opened, it carries a very distructive force. Trojans have recently been developed where a surfer simply has to view an infected webpage, and a trojan will auto-install immediately, without you doing anything other than simply viewing the page. And hackers are getting sneaky. Emails have begun circulating that looks just like a typical joke or news email a friend would send. But when you click on the link in the newsletter, it will take you to an infected website, installing a trojan once you view the webpage. Trojans work by carrying programs within the file you download that allow someone else to have complete and total access to your computer. Once unleashed, the Trojan often destroying the computer's functionality, while allowing your computer to be used for nefarious reasons. Trojans enable hackers to open backdoors within your computer system, giving them unlimited access to any files on your computer system and even access any networks you have installed. Some trojans install a dialer, and utilizing your modem, you could discover your next phone bill has thousands of dollars in phone calls you never made.Trojans, unlike spyware or adware, are much more difficult to remove from a computer than a virus or spyware can be. If you believe your computer is infected, you should first run a full virus scan to see if it detects anything, such as a virus or a trojan. Do be sure to install the latest security updates before you run your scan. Because many people become infected with trojans shortly after its release, you want to make sure that your anti-virus program is checking for the most up-to-date security risks. After you perform your scan and the software has discovered a problem, you will now need to remove it. If you are infected and you use Norton Anti-Virus, NAV will refer you to the online documentation for removal instructions. Other anti-virus programs may or may not direct you to instructions once it has found a trojan. Print out the instructions is easiest, then follow them to the letter to remove it. After checking with your anti-virus program, and removing any problems it discovered, you should next to a spyware and adware scan. Spybot: Search & Destroy and Ad-Aware by Lavasoft are the most-recommended programs for this. Both of these are free to download (there are paid professional versions available). Both of these links are directly at the software's actual sites, so you know you are getting the most up-to-date version. |
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