Security+ Training Guide

Malicious Code

Recognize malicious code and take appropriate action.

In today's network environment, malicious code has become a serious problem. Software labeled as malicious is designed to do something to the computer. The target is often the information stored on the local computer, but other resources or even other computers can be targeted, as you'll see in the following discussion. The categories of malicious code that we cover include the following:

• Viruses

• Trojan horses

• Logic bombs

• Worms

Viruses

One of the earliest known forms of malicious code is the virus. The name virus comes from the behavior of the code and its similarities to biological viruses. A biological virus is a small chunk of DNA, incapable of replication and damage on its ...