How Can I Avoid a Trojan Horse Infection | Free Antivirus Software

Trojan malware takes its name from the classical story of the Trojan horse, because it imitates the technique to infect computers. A Trojan will hide within seemingly harmless programs or will try to trick you into installing it.

 

Unlike viruses, Trojans do not replicate themselves by infecting other files or computers. Instead, it is a bait that infiltrates other malicious software (malware) and is wrapped as a gift, so to speak, to keep the actual nefarious intentions hidden.

Trojans survive by going unnoticed. They can nestle in your computer, gather information, create security holes, or just take over your computer and lock you out.

What Is a Trojan?

Basically, a trojan is a malicious program that pretends to be harmless to trick people into downloading it.

Trojans are characterized by the fact that they are the first malware that ever existed. Its name was coined in 1974 in a report by the US Air Force listed all the hypothetical ways in which a computer system could be compromised. Trojans shouldn't be a theory for long.

Just one year later, the first “real” Trojan (although opinions differ as to whether it really counts) was discovered in the wild: a program called ANIMAL-PERVADE. This piece of code disguised itself as a computer game to trick users into downloading it and then introduce a self-replicating virus. This simple animal guessing game backed up itself to every drive that the active user could access and went to great lengths not to damage or overwrite anything in the process. The whole thing was harmless and easy to fix, but since the program did not reveal the virus it contained, it can be classified as a Trojan.

Trojans that followed were no longer as innocent, and they quickly became one of the most popular ways to launch a malware attack. This is especially true today where "social engineering" (a type of threat that includes tampering and lying about social networks) has become one of the preferred methods of spreading malware of all kinds.

 

What Does a Trojan Look Like?

Well, that's the problem: a Trojan can take pretty much any shape. The computer game you downloaded from a strange website. The “free” MP3 from the band they secretly adore. Even advertisements could try to install something on your PC.

Some Trojans are specially designed to trick you into using them. Misleading wording may be used or they may be trying to convince you that this is a legitimate app. For this reason, it is important to take care to avoid unsafe websites and not to download content carelessly.

 

How Do I Know if My Device Has Been Infected by A Trojan Horse?

Unlike other types of malware that don't even try to pretend they're safe and friendly, Trojans can be more difficult to identify at first glance.

Check the Programs Installed on Your Device

As mentioned earlier, Trojans tend to open back doors for other malware to download. It may therefore be worth checking the list of programs installed on your device for such programs that you cannot remember installing. Windows PC users can use the Add or Remove Programs function, while Mac users can use the Finder function. If you notice something that sounds unfamiliar, it either means you caught a Trojan or that a legitimate download installed another program behind your back. In both cases, it is advisable to get rid of it.

 

Get an Antivirus

It should go without saying, but the best way to identify malware - and avoid infection in the first place - is to run a strong and reliable antivirus. It should be noted at this point that Trojans are usually better at staying clandestine than most other types of malware, as they go into much more effort to keep them hidden and out of sight. In comparison, viruses spend significantly more energy on replicating themselves, which makes them much more visible.

So if you are concerned that a stubborn Trojan is hiding in your device, it is advisable to run a start-up time check, which is carried out when the PC is started - and which ensures that it is no longer safe to hide the Trojan.

How Can I Avoid a Trojan Horse Infection?

The first and most logical step is to install an antivirus that will intercept and stop most Trojans before they can even get on your PC. However, since the human component is the weakest link in the cybersecurity chain, you too must do your part if you are to stay completely safe.

Be Careful with Downloads

The most important thing is that you exercise caution with any content you attempt to download online and beware of phishing attempts. Malware is known to have sneaked into even the safest online marketplaces in the past and bypassed the strictest anti-spam filters, and even when inevitably detected, it usually manages to get a few people in before that to lure the trap. So in order not to open the gates like the inhabitants of Troy in mythology to bring their own downfall into their home, you should pay attention to the following warning signs:

·         Does it sound too good to be true?

·         Does it sound personal, but personal identifiers are missing?

·         Did it come from nowhere, so to speak?

·         Was it sent from an email address with a public domain name? (@ yahoo.com, @ gmail.com, etc.)

·         Does it have an urgent message?

·         Is something strange to you or are there any noticeable typing errors?

·         Are the links not secured with HTTPS? Are you misspelled? Or do you contain special characters?

·         Does the offered file have an unusual file extension? (For For example, should it be a "document" but it is actually a ZIP file?)

·         Are you downloading content from a third party or a third party site?

·         Are there any reviews? Do the good testimonials seem suspicious to you or do they all sound too similar?

·         If it's an app, was it recently released? Is it an app that you think was released a long time ago? (For example, was an online banking app released just a few hours ago?)

If the answer to any of these questions is yes, there is a good chance that a hacker is trying to launch a phishing attack on you. However, this is not the only way your PC can be infected with a Trojan horse.

 

How Do I Get Rid of A Trojan?

In case you have identified a Trojan using the methods above, you can manually get rid of it by manually deleting the file or application. However, there is no guarantee that it has actually been completely removed (it could still be nested in your PC as debris), but this is a good start. In fact, there are many types of malicious programs that will fight back - read our malware removal guide to find out more.

If you cannot find the Trojan, but you still suspect that your PC is infected, restoring an old backup will ensure that it is completely removed. And if even that fails, factory reset is still a good final option. Of course, nothing comes close to antivirus in terms of speed and convenience. You have the option of performing a regular scan or, if necessary, a start-time check to detect stubborn Trojans. Just make sure you have a robust antivirus such as Protegent Free Antivirus Software