By: Sourya T

You might have heard of the word malware before but do you actually know what it means or what types there are? In today’s world understanding the types of malware is crucial to protecting yourself and your devices from threats online. Malware is also known as “malicious software” which refers to software or programs designed to damage or disrupt computers, smartphones, and/or networks. Some types of malware include Viruses, Worms, and ransomware.

First the virus, a virus is something that attaches itself to a file or program and spreads when the file is opened. It can corrupt your data which leads to the computer slowing down and deleting important files. A famous example of a virus was the “ILOVEYOU” virus in 2000. This virus spread through email attachments and infected 45 million windows computers and caused eight billion dollars in damage.

A worm is similar to a virus but it does not need a file to attach to, instead it spreads automatically across a network and can infect many computers very quickly. A famous example of a worm is the conficker worm which started in 2008 it infected a massive number of windows computers in the range of millions.

Lastly, ransomware is when a hacker locks your computer and demands a type of payment to unlock it. A famous example of ransomware was “WannaCry.” This was a global ransomware attack that locked users’ files and demanded Bitcoin payments to restore access.