Hacked Website Recovery

Malware is the collective term for a number of malicious software variants. Common malware includes viruses, ransomware and spyware. Malware is a short form for MALicious softWARE. Malware typically consists of code developed by cyberattackers, designed to cause extensive damage to data and systems or to gain unauthorized access to a network.

Malware can infect networks and devices and is designed to harm those devices, networks and/or their users in some way. Depending on the type of malware, this harm can take many forms and may present itself differently to the user. Most malware are mild but there are some of aggressive nature. No matter the method, all types of malware are designed to exploit devices at the expense of the user and to the benefit of the hacker — the person who has designed and/or deployed the malware.

Malware authors use a variety of physical and virtual means to spread malware that infects devices and networks. For example, malicious programs can be delivered to a system with a USB drive or can spread over the internet through drive-by downloads, which automatically download malicious programs to systems without the user’s approval or knowledge. Phishing attacks are another common type of malware delivery where emails disguised as legitimate messages contain malicious links or attachments that can deliver the malware executable file to unsuspecting users. Sophisticated malware attacks often feature the use of a command-and-control server that enables threat actors to communicate with the infected systems, exfiltrate sensitive data and even remotely control the compromised device or server.