Nikto & John the Ripper 

Nikto is another favorite, well-known as part of the Kali Linux Distribution. Other popular Linux distributions such as Fedora already come with Nikto available in their software repositories as well. This security tool is used to scan web servers and perform different types of tests against the specified remote host. Its clean and simple command line interface makes it really easy to launch any vulnerability testing against your target.

Nikto’s main features include:

• Detects default installation files on any operating system

• Detects outdated software applications

• Integration with Metasploit Framework

• Run cross-site scripting vulnerability tests

• Execute dictionary-based brute force attacks

• Exports results in plain text, CSV or HTML files

 Wireshark 

Wireshark is a free open-source software that allows you to analyze network traffic in real time. Thanks to its sniffing technology, Wireshark is widely known for its ability to detect security problems in any network, as well as for its effectiveness in solving general networking problems. While sniffing the network, you’re able to intercept and read results in human-readable format, which makes it easier to identify potential problems (such as low latency), threats and vulnerabilities.

Main features:

• Saves analysis for offline inspection

• Packet browser

• Powerful GUI

• Rich VoIP analysis

• Inspects and decompresses gzip files

• Reads other capture files formats including Sniffer Pro, Tcpdump, Microsoft network monitor, Cisco Secure IDS IPlog, etc.

• Exports results to XML, PostScript, CSV, or plain text

Wireshark supports up to 2000 different network protocols, and is available on all major operating systems including:

• Linux

• Windows

• Mac OS X

Gain practical knowledge and expertise in identifying and addressing vulnerabilities during this Ethical Hacking Internship.

 Ethical hacking Tools

Automation has left its imprint on every industry out there, and the realm of ethical hacking is no different. With the onset of various tools in the ethical hacking industry, it has been transformed. Ethical hacking tools help in information gathering, creating backdoors and payloads, cracking passwords and an array of other activities. In this article, we’ll be discussing the top 10 ethical hacking tools till 2021:

Acunetix

Nmap

Metasploit

Wireshark

Nikto

John the Ripper

Kismet

SQLninja

Wapiti

Canvas

Acunetix

Acunetix is an automated web application security testing and ethical hacking tool. It is used to audit your web applications by checking for vulnerabilities like SQL Injection, cross-site scripting, and other exploitable vulnerabilities. In general, Acunetix scans any website or web application that is accessible via a web browser and uses the HTTP/HTTPS protocol.

Acunetix offers a strong and unique solution for analyzing off-the-shelf and custom web applications including those utilizing JavaScript, AJAX and Web 2.0 web applications. Acunetix has an advanced crawler that can find almost any file. This is important since what is not found cannot be checked.

 TheFatRat is an exploiting tool which compiles a malware with famous payload, and then the compiled maware can be executed on Linux , Windows , Mac and Android. TheFatRat Provides An Easy way to create Backdoors and Payload which can bypass most anti-virus.

Information

This tool is for educational purpose only, usage of TheFatRat for attacking targets without prior mutual consent is illegal. Developers assume no liability and are not responsible for any misuse or damage cause by this program.

Features !

Fully Automating MSFvenom & Metasploit.

Local or remote listener Generation.

Easily Make Backdoor by category Operating System.

Generate payloads in Various formats.

Bypass anti-virus backdoors.

File pumper that you can use for increasing the size of your files.

The ability to detect external IP & Interface address .

Automatically creates AutoRun files for USB / CDROM exploitation

But it's shit! And your implementation sucks!

Yes, you're probably correct. Feel free to "Not use it" and there is a pull button to "Make it better.

Installation

Instructions on how to install TheFatRat

git clone https://github.com/Screetsec/TheFatRat.git

cd TheFatRat

chmod +x setup.sh && ./setup.sh

Update

cd TheFatRat

./update && chmod +x setup.sh && ./setup.sh

Troubleshoot on TheFatRat

chk_tools script to use in case of problems in setup.sh of fatrat this script will check if everything is in the right version to run fatrat and will also provide you a solution for the problem

cd TheFatRat

chmod +x chk_tools 

./chk_tools

GitTool

Git Best Tools Hacking For Kali Linux 

Download&install

gitclone https://github.com/Ha3MrX/GitTool

cd GitTool

chmod +x gittool.sh

./gittool.sh

Virus-Builder

This tool will generate a virus that can only destroy Windows computer. You can also configure to auto run in usb drive More scripts will be added with time

Usage

git clone https://github.com/Cyber-Dioxide/Virus-Builder/

cd Virus-Builder

ls

pip install -r requirements.txt

python3 Builder.py

Once Virus is generated! exit the tool and type 'cp ifection.bat/sdcard' without quotes

Installing

git clone https://github.com/mrprogrammer2938/DDos-Attack.git

cd DDos-attack

bash install.sh

python DDos.py

This program runs with root!

Run Root...

sudo su

Updating...

cd Update

./update

Uninstalling...

./uninstall.sh

What Is A DDos-Attack

A Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack is an attempt to make an online service unavailable

by overwhelming it with traffic from multiple sources. They target a wide variety of important resources from banks to news websites, and present a major challenge to making sure people can publish and access important information

Download & Install

$-git clone https://github.com/Ha3MrX/DDos-Attack

$- cd DDos-Attack

$- chmod +x ddos-attack.py

$- python ddos-attack.py

Malware Attacks Protection and Prevention Best Practices

Install Anti-Malware Software

While this sounds obvious, organizations can find it difficult to deploy anti-malware solutions on all their devices. Employees commonly use personal devices to access corporate systems, and those devices might not have adequate anti-malware protection. Some computing systems or devices may not support installation of anti-malware solutions —for example, legacy systems or internet of things (IoT) devices.

The first step to protect against malware is to ensure that all devices have strong anti-malware protection installed, and devices that don’t have it should be severely limited in their ability to access the network and sensitive systems.

Learn more in our detailed guide to anti-malware protection

Keep Software Updated

Software vendors regularly provide patches and updates to address new vulnerabilities as they arise. Many of these vulnerabilities could result in attackers deploying malware in the corporate environment. 

It is critical to check for and install all new software patches—this applies to operating systems, software tools, browsers, and plug-ins. It is advised to automate the patch management process to ensure updates happen quickly, and reduce the burden on IT teams.

Secure Browsers

Users are often infected by malware via their web browsers. A primary method for causing users to download malware is malicious pop ups—malicious sites and adware programs can create pop-ups to deliver malware or spyware to a user’s device, hijack the browser session, or perform other malicious actions. 

Other commonly exploited weaknesses in web browsers include malicious redirects, insecure plugins, DNS attacks, and insecure use of stored passwords and form data.

There are two main ways to protect against these threats. Use technological solutions that can limit impact, such as browser isolation and web filtering, and educate users on safe browsing habits.

Regulate Networking and Storage

These methods can help block common threat vectors that lead to malware infection:

Install or implement firewalls, intrusion detection systems (IDS) and intrusion prevention systems (IPS).

Do not allow users to connect USB drives or use unsanctioned cloud storage services.

Close unused ports and disable unused communication protocols.

Delete inactive user accounts and limit permissions to active accounts according to the least privilege principle.

Implement Email Security and Spam Protection

Email is an essential business communication tool, but it is also a common malware distribution channel. To reduce the risk of infection:

• Ensure all incoming email messages, including attachments, are scanned for malware.

• Use a sandbox to safely “detonate” suspicious files to protect against unknown threats.

• Set up a spam filter to reduce spam and inappropriate or suspicious emails.

• Only allow users to click company-approved links

• Clearly warn about emails that come from non-company or unknown email addresses.

• Learn more in our detailed guide to prevent malware attacks.

Preventing Malware with Perception Point

Perception Point developed next-gen static and dynamic engines that detect and prevent any attempt to deliver malware.

These dynamic and static engines are broken up into several elements: In the front line stands the Recursive Unpacker which extracts all files and URLs transferred, thus uncovering and thwarting evasion techniques. Next is the Threat Intelligence layer – The best-in-class intelligence sources coupled with internally developed engines scans all content to identify any “known” malware. Following the threat intelligence, is a stack of the leading Anti-virus engines in the world in addition to Perception Point’s Signature Analysis engines for highly complex malware. The last piece of the “Everyday Malware” stack, is Perception Point’s phishing engines which use in-house build image recognition capabilities to prevent any type of URL based malware delivery.

New, sophisticated malware attacks all rely on the usage of an exploitation technique. This means that prior to any advanced malware release, the attacker will try to use an exploit to set the ground ready for installing one of any millions of malware options he has in his hands.

Perception Point knows how attackers think. This is why we invented the HAP – a proprietary next-gen dynamic engine that has visibility into the exploit level. In other words, instead of chasing the many malware out there, we “cut off the root” and prevent the malware from even being delivered, not to mention from running.

Signature-Based Malware Detection

Signature-based malware detection works by comparing the digital signature of a piece of software or file against a database of known malware signatures.

When a piece of software or file is suspected of being malicious, the antivirus software will first calculate its digital signature. This is typically done using a cryptographic hash function, which produces a unique string of characters (the signature) based on the content of the file.

The signature is then compared against a database of known malware signatures. If there is a match, the antivirus software will flag the file as malicious and take appropriate action, such as quarantining or deleting the file.

Pros and cons: The main advantage of signature-based malware detection is that it can quickly and accurately identify known malware. However, it is not effective against new or unknown malware, as the database of known signatures does not yet contain a signature for the new malware.

Behavior-Based Malware Detection

Behavior-based malware detection works by monitoring the behavior of a piece of software or file to determine whether it exhibits characteristics that are typical of malware.

When a piece of software or file is suspected of being malicious, the antivirus software will begin monitoring its behavior. This typically involves tracking the actions that the software or file takes on the system, such as creating new files or modifying existing ones, and comparing them against a set of known malware behaviors.

If the software or file exhibits behavior that is consistent with known malware, the antivirus software will flag it as malicious and take appropriate action, such as quarantining or deleting the file.

Pros and cons: An advantage of behavior-based malware detection is that it can identify new or unknown malware, even if it does not have a known signature. This is because the detection is based on the behavior of the malware, rather than its signature. A disadvantage of behavior-based detection is that it can generate false positives, where benign software is mistakenly flagged as malware.

Recursive Unpacking

Recursive unpacking involves unpackaging, or decompressing, a piece of software or file multiple times to uncover any hidden malware that may be embedded within it.

When a piece of software or file is suspected of being malicious, the antivirus software will first attempt to unpack it using a decompression or decryption algorithm. If the software or file contains multiple layers of packaging, the antivirus software will continue to unpackage each layer until it reaches the innermost layer, scanning the content of each layer for known malware signatures. 

If it finds any, it will flag the file as malicious and take appropriate action, such as quarantining or deleting it.

Pros and cons: Recursive unpacking can uncover malware that uses packers, compression algorithms, or similar methods to evade detection by signature-based detection systems. However, it can be computationally intensive, and may not be suitable for real-time detection of malware in high-throughput environments.

Next-generation Sandboxing 

Sandbox technology is a method used by antivirus software to detect malware. It involves running suspicious software or files in a controlled environment, known as a sandbox, to observe their behavior and identify any malicious activity.

Modern sandbox solutions can run the suspicious software or file in a virtual machine, which is a software-based emulation of a computer system. This allows the antivirus software to observe the behavior of the software or file in a controlled environment, without exposing the host system to any potential harm.

Another technique is processor tracing, which involves monitoring the instructions that the suspicious software or file executes on the host system’s processor. This allows the antivirus software to identify any potentially malicious instructions, such as those that attempt to modify system files or download additional malware.

Pros and cons: Sandbox technology is effective at detecting malware that is designed to evade detection by other methods, such as signature-based detection or recursive unpacking. While modern sandbox techniques can analyze files in seconds, rather than minutes for traditional solutions, they are still computationally intensive, and less suitable for real-time detection.

 What Is Malware?

Malware (malicious software) is designed to disrupt the normal functioning of a computer or other device. It is an umbrella term for viruses, trojan horses, and other destructive computer programs that attackers use to compromise systems and networks, sabotage systems, and gain access to sensitive information.

Malware is usually a file or piece of code, often passed over a network, which can infect systems, steal data, grant unauthorized access, and otherwise advance an attacker’s goals. With millions of variants of malware commonly seen in the wild, there are many ways to infect a computer system. 

• Malware typically has one of the following goals: 

• Giving the attacker remote control over the infected system.

• Investigating the local network and helping attackers perform lateral movement.

• Identifying and granting access to sensitive systems and data, and exfiltrating data.

• Stealing funds using accounts or credentials on the victim’s device.

• Using the victim’s device to perform illegal or unwanted activities, such as sending spam or mining cryptocurrency.

Ransomware is rapidly growing in importance and becoming a top priority for security professionals. It is another type of malware that encrypts files on a victim’s computer and requires a ransom in exchange for a decryption key, which, even if the victim pays up, is often not provided. Global-scale ransomware attacks have illustrated the devastating impact that malware can have on individuals, organizations, and entire industries.

This is part of an extensive series of guides about hacking.

In this article

Common Malware Types and Examples

• Virus

• Worm

• Trojan

• Ransomware

• Spyware

• Adware

• Botnet

• Fileless Malware 

• A Short History of Malware Development 

• Malware Prevention Challenges 

• Disguised Malware

• Signature-Based Detection Is Not Enough

• Sandboxing Is Inefficient

• How Anti-Malware Technology Works 

• Signature-Based Malware Detection

• Behavior-Based Malware Detection

• Recursive Unpacking

• Next-generation Sandboxing 

• Malware Attacks Protection and Prevention Best Practices

• Install Anti-Malware Software

• Keep Software Updated

• Secure Browsers

• Regulate Networking and Storage

• Implement Email Security and Spam Protection

• Preventing Malware with Perception Point

• See Our Additional Guides on Key Hacking Topics

• Ransomware

• Phishing

• Cloud Security

• Common Malware Types and Examples

• Virus

A computer virus is malicious software that, once activated, copies itself from one folder to another and inserts its own code. Viruses can spread quickly and can infect systems to steal personal and financial information, send spam, or lock users out of their devices.

Worm

Worms are very similar to viruses in that they replicate themselves within a system, but unlike viruses, they cannot infect other programs. Once installed, the worm starts running silently, infecting computers without the user’s knowledge. Worms can replicate themselves hundreds of times, consuming system resources and damaging devices.

Trojan

A Trojan Horse is a type of malware that masquerades as legitimate software but is actually used for malicious purposes. Trojans claim to be free updates, games, or antivirus programs and can trick users into installing them on their devices. Once installed, Trojans run silently in the background to steal important data, install backdoors and perform other harmful activities.

Ransomware

Ransomware has massively grown in recent years and causes damage estimated at more than $8 billion worldwide by the end of the year. Ransomware is malware that encrypts a victim’s data and blocks access until a ransom is paid. The most common way ransomware is delivered is by clicking on a link in an email or opening a malicious attachment.

Spyware

Spyware is software that is installed on a device and secretly monitors a victim’s online activities. It collects data such as passwords, credit card numbers, and browsing activity.

Adware

Adware is malicious software that, once downloaded, displays unwanted advertisements on victims’ computers. Adware doesn’t always do immediate damage, but it can be very annoying as it leads users to unwanted advertisements, opens intrusive pop-up windows, and might redirect users to malicious sites.

Botnet

A bot is a malware-infected device that performs harmful tasks without the user’s knowledge. A botnet is a network of infected devices working together under the control of an attacker. Botnets can be used to conduct phishing campaigns, send spam, or conduct distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.

Fileless Malware 

Fileless malware is malicious software that does not rely on download of malicious files. Instead, it uses legitimate programs to infect a system. It is hard to detect and remove, because it only operates in memory and does not leave any footprint on the target system. 

Fileless malware is a powerful type of attack that can evade most security tools—only behavioral analysis and other advanced techniques can identify and address them. 

A Short History of Malware Development 

1980s: The Morris worm

One of the first and most prominent malware incidents in history was the Morris worm, introduced in 1988. Developed in academia, it could spread to other systems over a network, primarily by exploiting vulnerabilities in software called sendmail which was then commonly deployed on computers. The worm did not check whether the target system was already infected. It created multiple copies of itself on each system, consuming all system resources of the victim and rendering them unusable. 

1990s: The first hacker communities

The Morris worm showcased the power of malware, and led to the first conviction for malware development. Since then, many other types of malware have emerged. In the 1990s, computers became more ubiquitous and affordable to the general public, and the first hacker communities began to develop worldwide. 

Gradually, their focus shifted to making money. Programming started to be taught in schools and universities, and new high-level programming languages were created, making it easier for inexperienced people to start writing code. The same skills were exploited by criminals to write malicious code. 

2000s: Organized cybercrime and economically motivated threat actors

Over the next decade, malware development has become a lucrative and organized illicit activity. Specialized cybercrime organizations with clearly defined responsibilities began to emerge. 

Many of these groups focused on attacking individual computer users and stealing funds or carrying out fraud. They used all available money laundering methods, initially using money mules and later turning to cryptocurrencies to avoid being tracked. These groups are often referred to as economically motivated threat actors.

2010-2020s: Ransomware and the shift to larger targets

In recent years, the focus of cybercriminal groups has gradually shifted from attacking consumers or small businesses to bigger and more attractive targets—large institutions. The most common example is using ransomware to encrypt an organization’s files before demanding a ransom to restore access. Modern attacks make use of double extortion tactics—threatening either to encrypt files or to release sensitive material to the public.

Denial of Service Attack

Harin hana sabis (DoS) wani nau'in harin yanar gizo ne wanda ke da nufin sanya kwamfuta ko hanyar sadarwa ba ta samuwa ga masu amfani da ita. Ana iya ƙaddamar da hare-haren DoS ta amfani da dabaru iri-iri, kamar ambaliyar sabar tare da zirga-zirga ko yin amfani da lahani a cikin software ko hardware na tsarin.

SQL Injection

SQL allura wani nau'in harin yanar gizo ne wanda ya ƙunshi saka lambar ɓarna a cikin ma'ajin bayanai ta amfani da SQL (Structured Query Language). Manufar ita ce samun damar yin amfani da mahimman bayanai ko yin amfani da bayanai a cikin ma'ajin bayanai.

harin DNS

Harin Tsarin Sunan Domain (DNS) wani nau'in harin yanar gizo ne wanda ke kaiwa abubuwan more rayuwa da ke sa Intanet aiki. Ana iya amfani da hare-haren DNS don karkatar da zirga-zirgar intanit zuwa gidajen yanar gizo masu ɓarna, tarwatsa damar shiga yanar gizo na halal, ko satar bayanai masu mahimmanci.

Malware

Malware, gajeriyar software mai cutarwa, ita ce kowace software da aka ƙera don cutar da tsarin kwamfuta. Misalan malware sun haɗa da ƙwayoyin cuta, tsutsotsi, da Trojans. Malware na iya cutar da kwamfuta ta hanyoyi daban-daban, kamar ana zazzage su daga intanit, haɗa su da software na halal, ko kuma isar da su ta hanyar harin phishing.

Ransomware

Ransomware wani nau'in malware ne wanda ke ɓoye fayilolin wanda aka azabtar; maharan daga nan sai su nemi kudin fansa daga wanda abin ya shafa don dawo da damar yin amfani da fayilolin. Hare-haren Ransomware na iya zama ɓarna musamman saboda suna iya hana ƙungiyoyi samun dama ga mahimman bayanai da tsarin, wanda ke haifar da babbar matsala da asarar kuɗi.

Pishing

Pishing wani nau'i ne na harin yanar gizo wanda ya ƙunshi yaudarar mutane don fallasa mahimman bayanai, kamar bayanan shiga ko bayanan kuɗi, ta hanyar yin kamar halaltaccen mahalli. Hare-haren masu saɓo suna yawan amfani da imel ko kafofin watsa labarun don jawo waɗanda abin ya shafa su shiga danna hanyoyin haɗin yanar gizo ko zazzage malware.

Email

Imel spoofing wani nau'i ne na harin yanar gizo wanda maharin ya ƙirƙira adireshin mai aikawa a cikin imel. Manufar ita ce a yaudari mai karɓa don tunanin cewa imel ɗin ya fito daga halaltacciyar tushe, don haka za su buɗe shi kuma za su iya watsa bayanai masu mahimmanci ko danna hanyar haɗin yanar gizo.

 Nikto & John the Ripper 

Nikto is another favorite, well-known as part of the Kali Linux Distribution. Other popular Linux distributions such as Fedora already come with Nikto available in their software repositories as well. This security tool is used to scan web servers and perform different types of tests against the specified remote host. Its clean and simple command line interface makes it really easy to launch any vulnerability testing against your target.

Nikto’s main features include:

• Detects default installation files on any operating system

• Detects outdated software applications

• Integration with Metasploit Framework

• Run cross-site scripting vulnerability tests

• Execute dictionary-based brute force attacks

• Exports results in plain text, CSV or HTML files

 Wireshark 

Wireshark is a free open-source software that allows you to analyze network traffic in real time. Thanks to its sniffing technology, Wireshark is widely known for its ability to detect security problems in any network, as well as for its effectiveness in solving general networking problems. While sniffing the network, you’re able to intercept and read results in human-readable format, which makes it easier to identify potential problems (such as low latency), threats and vulnerabilities.

Main features:

• Saves analysis for offline inspection

• Packet browser

• Powerful GUI

• Rich VoIP analysis

• Inspects and decompresses gzip files

• Reads other capture files formats including Sniffer Pro, Tcpdump, Microsoft network monitor, Cisco Secure IDS IPlog, etc.

• Exports results to XML, PostScript, CSV, or plain text

Wireshark supports up to 2000 different network protocols, and is available on all major operating systems including:

• Linux

• Windows

• Mac OS X

Gain practical knowledge and expertise in identifying and addressing vulnerabilities during this Ethical Hacking Internship.

 Ethical hacking Tools

Automation has left its imprint on every industry out there, and the realm of ethical hacking is no different. With the onset of various tools in the ethical hacking industry, it has been transformed. Ethical hacking tools help in information gathering, creating backdoors and payloads, cracking passwords and an array of other activities. In this article, we’ll be discussing the top 10 ethical hacking tools till 2021:

Acunetix

Nmap

Metasploit

Wireshark

Nikto

John the Ripper

Kismet

SQLninja

Wapiti

Canvas

Acunetix

Acunetix is an automated web application security testing and ethical hacking tool. It is used to audit your web applications by checking for vulnerabilities like SQL Injection, cross-site scripting, and other exploitable vulnerabilities. In general, Acunetix scans any website or web application that is accessible via a web browser and uses the HTTP/HTTPS protocol.

Acunetix offers a strong and unique solution for analyzing off-the-shelf and custom web applications including those utilizing JavaScript, AJAX and Web 2.0 web applications. Acunetix has an advanced crawler that can find almost any file. This is important since what is not found cannot be checked.

 TheFatRat is an exploiting tool which compiles a malware with famous payload, and then the compiled maware can be executed on Linux , Windows , Mac and Android. TheFatRat Provides An Easy way to create Backdoors and Payload which can bypass most anti-virus.

Information

This tool is for educational purpose only, usage of TheFatRat for attacking targets without prior mutual consent is illegal. Developers assume no liability and are not responsible for any misuse or damage cause by this program.

Features !

Fully Automating MSFvenom & Metasploit.

Local or remote listener Generation.

Easily Make Backdoor by category Operating System.

Generate payloads in Various formats.

Bypass anti-virus backdoors.

File pumper that you can use for increasing the size of your files.

The ability to detect external IP & Interface address .

Automatically creates AutoRun files for USB / CDROM exploitation

But it's shit! And your implementation sucks!

Yes, you're probably correct. Feel free to "Not use it" and there is a pull button to "Make it better.

Installation

Instructions on how to install TheFatRat

git clone https://github.com/Screetsec/TheFatRat.git

cd TheFatRat

chmod +x setup.sh && ./setup.sh

Update

cd TheFatRat

./update && chmod +x setup.sh && ./setup.sh

Troubleshoot on TheFatRat

chk_tools script to use in case of problems in setup.sh of fatrat this script will check if everything is in the right version to run fatrat and will also provide you a solution for the problem

cd TheFatRat

chmod +x chk_tools 

./chk_tools

GitTool

Git Best Tools Hacking For Kali Linux 

Download&install

gitclone https://github.com/Ha3MrX/GitTool

cd GitTool

chmod +x gittool.sh

./gittool.sh

Virus-Builder

This tool will generate a virus that can only destroy Windows computer. You can also configure to auto run in usb drive More scripts will be added with time

Usage

git clone https://github.com/Cyber-Dioxide/Virus-Builder/

cd Virus-Builder

ls

pip install -r requirements.txt

python3 Builder.py

Once Virus is generated! exit the tool and type 'cp ifection.bat/sdcard' without quotes

Installing

git clone https://github.com/mrprogrammer2938/DDos-Attack.git

cd DDos-attack

bash install.sh

python DDos.py

This program runs with root!

Run Root...

sudo su

Updating...

cd Update

./update

Uninstalling...

./uninstall.sh

What Is A DDos-Attack

A Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack is an attempt to make an online service unavailable

by overwhelming it with traffic from multiple sources. They target a wide variety of important resources from banks to news websites, and present a major challenge to making sure people can publish and access important information

Download & Install

$-git clone https://github.com/Ha3MrX/DDos-Attack

$- cd DDos-Attack

$- chmod +x ddos-attack.py

$- python ddos-attack.py

Malware Attacks Protection and Prevention Best Practices

Install Anti-Malware Software

While this sounds obvious, organizations can find it difficult to deploy anti-malware solutions on all their devices. Employees commonly use personal devices to access corporate systems, and those devices might not have adequate anti-malware protection. Some computing systems or devices may not support installation of anti-malware solutions —for example, legacy systems or internet of things (IoT) devices.

The first step to protect against malware is to ensure that all devices have strong anti-malware protection installed, and devices that don’t have it should be severely limited in their ability to access the network and sensitive systems.

Learn more in our detailed guide to anti-malware protection

Keep Software Updated

Software vendors regularly provide patches and updates to address new vulnerabilities as they arise. Many of these vulnerabilities could result in attackers deploying malware in the corporate environment. 

It is critical to check for and install all new software patches—this applies to operating systems, software tools, browsers, and plug-ins. It is advised to automate the patch management process to ensure updates happen quickly, and reduce the burden on IT teams.

Secure Browsers

Users are often infected by malware via their web browsers. A primary method for causing users to download malware is malicious pop ups—malicious sites and adware programs can create pop-ups to deliver malware or spyware to a user’s device, hijack the browser session, or perform other malicious actions. 

Other commonly exploited weaknesses in web browsers include malicious redirects, insecure plugins, DNS attacks, and insecure use of stored passwords and form data.

There are two main ways to protect against these threats. Use technological solutions that can limit impact, such as browser isolation and web filtering, and educate users on safe browsing habits.

Regulate Networking and Storage

These methods can help block common threat vectors that lead to malware infection:

Install or implement firewalls, intrusion detection systems (IDS) and intrusion prevention systems (IPS).

Do not allow users to connect USB drives or use unsanctioned cloud storage services.

Close unused ports and disable unused communication protocols.

Delete inactive user accounts and limit permissions to active accounts according to the least privilege principle.

Implement Email Security and Spam Protection

Email is an essential business communication tool, but it is also a common malware distribution channel. To reduce the risk of infection:

• Ensure all incoming email messages, including attachments, are scanned for malware.

• Use a sandbox to safely “detonate” suspicious files to protect against unknown threats.

• Set up a spam filter to reduce spam and inappropriate or suspicious emails.

• Only allow users to click company-approved links

• Clearly warn about emails that come from non-company or unknown email addresses.

• Learn more in our detailed guide to prevent malware attacks.

Preventing Malware with Perception Point

Perception Point developed next-gen static and dynamic engines that detect and prevent any attempt to deliver malware.

These dynamic and static engines are broken up into several elements: In the front line stands the Recursive Unpacker which extracts all files and URLs transferred, thus uncovering and thwarting evasion techniques. Next is the Threat Intelligence layer – The best-in-class intelligence sources coupled with internally developed engines scans all content to identify any “known” malware. Following the threat intelligence, is a stack of the leading Anti-virus engines in the world in addition to Perception Point’s Signature Analysis engines for highly complex malware. The last piece of the “Everyday Malware” stack, is Perception Point’s phishing engines which use in-house build image recognition capabilities to prevent any type of URL based malware delivery.

New, sophisticated malware attacks all rely on the usage of an exploitation technique. This means that prior to any advanced malware release, the attacker will try to use an exploit to set the ground ready for installing one of any millions of malware options he has in his hands.

Perception Point knows how attackers think. This is why we invented the HAP – a proprietary next-gen dynamic engine that has visibility into the exploit level. In other words, instead of chasing the many malware out there, we “cut off the root” and prevent the malware from even being delivered, not to mention from running.

Signature-Based Malware Detection

Signature-based malware detection works by comparing the digital signature of a piece of software or file against a database of known malware signatures.

When a piece of software or file is suspected of being malicious, the antivirus software will first calculate its digital signature. This is typically done using a cryptographic hash function, which produces a unique string of characters (the signature) based on the content of the file.

The signature is then compared against a database of known malware signatures. If there is a match, the antivirus software will flag the file as malicious and take appropriate action, such as quarantining or deleting the file.

Pros and cons: The main advantage of signature-based malware detection is that it can quickly and accurately identify known malware. However, it is not effective against new or unknown malware, as the database of known signatures does not yet contain a signature for the new malware.

Behavior-Based Malware Detection

Behavior-based malware detection works by monitoring the behavior of a piece of software or file to determine whether it exhibits characteristics that are typical of malware.

When a piece of software or file is suspected of being malicious, the antivirus software will begin monitoring its behavior. This typically involves tracking the actions that the software or file takes on the system, such as creating new files or modifying existing ones, and comparing them against a set of known malware behaviors.

If the software or file exhibits behavior that is consistent with known malware, the antivirus software will flag it as malicious and take appropriate action, such as quarantining or deleting the file.

Pros and cons: An advantage of behavior-based malware detection is that it can identify new or unknown malware, even if it does not have a known signature. This is because the detection is based on the behavior of the malware, rather than its signature. A disadvantage of behavior-based detection is that it can generate false positives, where benign software is mistakenly flagged as malware.

Recursive Unpacking

Recursive unpacking involves unpackaging, or decompressing, a piece of software or file multiple times to uncover any hidden malware that may be embedded within it.

When a piece of software or file is suspected of being malicious, the antivirus software will first attempt to unpack it using a decompression or decryption algorithm. If the software or file contains multiple layers of packaging, the antivirus software will continue to unpackage each layer until it reaches the innermost layer, scanning the content of each layer for known malware signatures. 

If it finds any, it will flag the file as malicious and take appropriate action, such as quarantining or deleting it.

Pros and cons: Recursive unpacking can uncover malware that uses packers, compression algorithms, or similar methods to evade detection by signature-based detection systems. However, it can be computationally intensive, and may not be suitable for real-time detection of malware in high-throughput environments.

Next-generation Sandboxing 

Sandbox technology is a method used by antivirus software to detect malware. It involves running suspicious software or files in a controlled environment, known as a sandbox, to observe their behavior and identify any malicious activity.

Modern sandbox solutions can run the suspicious software or file in a virtual machine, which is a software-based emulation of a computer system. This allows the antivirus software to observe the behavior of the software or file in a controlled environment, without exposing the host system to any potential harm.

Another technique is processor tracing, which involves monitoring the instructions that the suspicious software or file executes on the host system’s processor. This allows the antivirus software to identify any potentially malicious instructions, such as those that attempt to modify system files or download additional malware.

Pros and cons: Sandbox technology is effective at detecting malware that is designed to evade detection by other methods, such as signature-based detection or recursive unpacking. While modern sandbox techniques can analyze files in seconds, rather than minutes for traditional solutions, they are still computationally intensive, and less suitable for real-time detection.

 What Is Malware?

Malware (malicious software) is designed to disrupt the normal functioning of a computer or other device. It is an umbrella term for viruses, trojan horses, and other destructive computer programs that attackers use to compromise systems and networks, sabotage systems, and gain access to sensitive information.

Malware is usually a file or piece of code, often passed over a network, which can infect systems, steal data, grant unauthorized access, and otherwise advance an attacker’s goals. With millions of variants of malware commonly seen in the wild, there are many ways to infect a computer system. 

• Malware typically has one of the following goals: 

• Giving the attacker remote control over the infected system.

• Investigating the local network and helping attackers perform lateral movement.

• Identifying and granting access to sensitive systems and data, and exfiltrating data.

• Stealing funds using accounts or credentials on the victim’s device.

• Using the victim’s device to perform illegal or unwanted activities, such as sending spam or mining cryptocurrency.

Ransomware is rapidly growing in importance and becoming a top priority for security professionals. It is another type of malware that encrypts files on a victim’s computer and requires a ransom in exchange for a decryption key, which, even if the victim pays up, is often not provided. Global-scale ransomware attacks have illustrated the devastating impact that malware can have on individuals, organizations, and entire industries.

This is part of an extensive series of guides about hacking.

In this article

Common Malware Types and Examples

• Virus

• Worm

• Trojan

• Ransomware

• Spyware

• Adware

• Botnet

• Fileless Malware 

• A Short History of Malware Development 

• Malware Prevention Challenges 

• Disguised Malware

• Signature-Based Detection Is Not Enough

• Sandboxing Is Inefficient

• How Anti-Malware Technology Works 

• Signature-Based Malware Detection

• Behavior-Based Malware Detection

• Recursive Unpacking

• Next-generation Sandboxing 

• Malware Attacks Protection and Prevention Best Practices

• Install Anti-Malware Software

• Keep Software Updated

• Secure Browsers

• Regulate Networking and Storage

• Implement Email Security and Spam Protection

• Preventing Malware with Perception Point

• See Our Additional Guides on Key Hacking Topics

• Ransomware

• Phishing

• Cloud Security

• Common Malware Types and Examples

• Virus

A computer virus is malicious software that, once activated, copies itself from one folder to another and inserts its own code. Viruses can spread quickly and can infect systems to steal personal and financial information, send spam, or lock users out of their devices.

Worm

Worms are very similar to viruses in that they replicate themselves within a system, but unlike viruses, they cannot infect other programs. Once installed, the worm starts running silently, infecting computers without the user’s knowledge. Worms can replicate themselves hundreds of times, consuming system resources and damaging devices.

Trojan

A Trojan Horse is a type of malware that masquerades as legitimate software but is actually used for malicious purposes. Trojans claim to be free updates, games, or antivirus programs and can trick users into installing them on their devices. Once installed, Trojans run silently in the background to steal important data, install backdoors and perform other harmful activities.

Ransomware

Ransomware has massively grown in recent years and causes damage estimated at more than $8 billion worldwide by the end of the year. Ransomware is malware that encrypts a victim’s data and blocks access until a ransom is paid. The most common way ransomware is delivered is by clicking on a link in an email or opening a malicious attachment.

Spyware

Spyware is software that is installed on a device and secretly monitors a victim’s online activities. It collects data such as passwords, credit card numbers, and browsing activity.

Adware

Adware is malicious software that, once downloaded, displays unwanted advertisements on victims’ computers. Adware doesn’t always do immediate damage, but it can be very annoying as it leads users to unwanted advertisements, opens intrusive pop-up windows, and might redirect users to malicious sites.

Botnet

A bot is a malware-infected device that performs harmful tasks without the user’s knowledge. A botnet is a network of infected devices working together under the control of an attacker. Botnets can be used to conduct phishing campaigns, send spam, or conduct distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.

Fileless Malware 

Fileless malware is malicious software that does not rely on download of malicious files. Instead, it uses legitimate programs to infect a system. It is hard to detect and remove, because it only operates in memory and does not leave any footprint on the target system. 

Fileless malware is a powerful type of attack that can evade most security tools—only behavioral analysis and other advanced techniques can identify and address them. 

A Short History of Malware Development 

1980s: The Morris worm

One of the first and most prominent malware incidents in history was the Morris worm, introduced in 1988. Developed in academia, it could spread to other systems over a network, primarily by exploiting vulnerabilities in software called sendmail which was then commonly deployed on computers. The worm did not check whether the target system was already infected. It created multiple copies of itself on each system, consuming all system resources of the victim and rendering them unusable. 

1990s: The first hacker communities

The Morris worm showcased the power of malware, and led to the first conviction for malware development. Since then, many other types of malware have emerged. In the 1990s, computers became more ubiquitous and affordable to the general public, and the first hacker communities began to develop worldwide. 

Gradually, their focus shifted to making money. Programming started to be taught in schools and universities, and new high-level programming languages were created, making it easier for inexperienced people to start writing code. The same skills were exploited by criminals to write malicious code. 

2000s: Organized cybercrime and economically motivated threat actors

Over the next decade, malware development has become a lucrative and organized illicit activity. Specialized cybercrime organizations with clearly defined responsibilities began to emerge. 

Many of these groups focused on attacking individual computer users and stealing funds or carrying out fraud. They used all available money laundering methods, initially using money mules and later turning to cryptocurrencies to avoid being tracked. These groups are often referred to as economically motivated threat actors.

2010-2020s: Ransomware and the shift to larger targets

In recent years, the focus of cybercriminal groups has gradually shifted from attacking consumers or small businesses to bigger and more attractive targets—large institutions. The most common example is using ransomware to encrypt an organization’s files before demanding a ransom to restore access. Modern attacks make use of double extortion tactics—threatening either to encrypt files or to release sensitive material to the public.

Denial of Service Attack

Harin hana sabis (DoS) wani nau'in harin yanar gizo ne wanda ke da nufin sanya kwamfuta ko hanyar sadarwa ba ta samuwa ga masu amfani da ita. Ana iya ƙaddamar da hare-haren DoS ta amfani da dabaru iri-iri, kamar ambaliyar sabar tare da zirga-zirga ko yin amfani da lahani a cikin software ko hardware na tsarin.

SQL Injection

SQL allura wani nau'in harin yanar gizo ne wanda ya ƙunshi saka lambar ɓarna a cikin ma'ajin bayanai ta amfani da SQL (Structured Query Language). Manufar ita ce samun damar yin amfani da mahimman bayanai ko yin amfani da bayanai a cikin ma'ajin bayanai.

harin DNS

Harin Tsarin Sunan Domain (DNS) wani nau'in harin yanar gizo ne wanda ke kaiwa abubuwan more rayuwa da ke sa Intanet aiki. Ana iya amfani da hare-haren DNS don karkatar da zirga-zirgar intanit zuwa gidajen yanar gizo masu ɓarna, tarwatsa damar shiga yanar gizo na halal, ko satar bayanai masu mahimmanci.

Malware

Malware, gajeriyar software mai cutarwa, ita ce kowace software da aka ƙera don cutar da tsarin kwamfuta. Misalan malware sun haɗa da ƙwayoyin cuta, tsutsotsi, da Trojans. Malware na iya cutar da kwamfuta ta hanyoyi daban-daban, kamar ana zazzage su daga intanit, haɗa su da software na halal, ko kuma isar da su ta hanyar harin phishing.

Ransomware

Ransomware wani nau'in malware ne wanda ke ɓoye fayilolin wanda aka azabtar; maharan daga nan sai su nemi kudin fansa daga wanda abin ya shafa don dawo da damar yin amfani da fayilolin. Hare-haren Ransomware na iya zama ɓarna musamman saboda suna iya hana ƙungiyoyi samun dama ga mahimman bayanai da tsarin, wanda ke haifar da babbar matsala da asarar kuɗi.

Pishing

Pishing wani nau'i ne na harin yanar gizo wanda ya ƙunshi yaudarar mutane don fallasa mahimman bayanai, kamar bayanan shiga ko bayanan kuɗi, ta hanyar yin kamar halaltaccen mahalli. Hare-haren masu saɓo suna yawan amfani da imel ko kafofin watsa labarun don jawo waɗanda abin ya shafa su shiga danna hanyoyin haɗin yanar gizo ko zazzage malware.

Email

Imel spoofing wani nau'i ne na harin yanar gizo wanda maharin ya ƙirƙira adireshin mai aikawa a cikin imel. Manufar ita ce a yaudari mai karɓa don tunanin cewa imel ɗin ya fito daga halaltacciyar tushe, don haka za su buɗe shi kuma za su iya watsa bayanai masu mahimmanci ko danna hanyar haɗin yanar gizo.

 Nikto & John the Ripper 

Nikto is another favorite, well-known as part of the Kali Linux Distribution. Other popular Linux distributions such as Fedora already come with Nikto available in their software repositories as well. This security tool is used to scan web servers and perform different types of tests against the specified remote host. Its clean and simple command line interface makes it really easy to launch any vulnerability testing against your target.

Nikto’s main features include:

• Detects default installation files on any operating system

• Detects outdated software applications

• Integration with Metasploit Framework

• Run cross-site scripting vulnerability tests

• Execute dictionary-based brute force attacks

• Exports results in plain text, CSV or HTML files

 Wireshark 

Wireshark is a free open-source software that allows you to analyze network traffic in real time. Thanks to its sniffing technology, Wireshark is widely known for its ability to detect security problems in any network, as well as for its effectiveness in solving general networking problems. While sniffing the network, you’re able to intercept and read results in human-readable format, which makes it easier to identify potential problems (such as low latency), threats and vulnerabilities.

Main features:

• Saves analysis for offline inspection

• Packet browser

• Powerful GUI

• Rich VoIP analysis

• Inspects and decompresses gzip files

• Reads other capture files formats including Sniffer Pro, Tcpdump, Microsoft network monitor, Cisco Secure IDS IPlog, etc.

• Exports results to XML, PostScript, CSV, or plain text

Wireshark supports up to 2000 different network protocols, and is available on all major operating systems including:

• Linux

• Windows

• Mac OS X

Gain practical knowledge and expertise in identifying and addressing vulnerabilities during this Ethical Hacking Internship.

 Ethical hacking Tools

Automation has left its imprint on every industry out there, and the realm of ethical hacking is no different. With the onset of various tools in the ethical hacking industry, it has been transformed. Ethical hacking tools help in information gathering, creating backdoors and payloads, cracking passwords and an array of other activities. In this article, we’ll be discussing the top 10 ethical hacking tools till 2021:

Acunetix

Nmap

Metasploit

Wireshark

Nikto

John the Ripper

Kismet

SQLninja

Wapiti

Canvas

Acunetix

Acunetix is an automated web application security testing and ethical hacking tool. It is used to audit your web applications by checking for vulnerabilities like SQL Injection, cross-site scripting, and other exploitable vulnerabilities. In general, Acunetix scans any website or web application that is accessible via a web browser and uses the HTTP/HTTPS protocol.

Acunetix offers a strong and unique solution for analyzing off-the-shelf and custom web applications including those utilizing JavaScript, AJAX and Web 2.0 web applications. Acunetix has an advanced crawler that can find almost any file. This is important since what is not found cannot be checked.

 TheFatRat is an exploiting tool which compiles a malware with famous payload, and then the compiled maware can be executed on Linux , Windows , Mac and Android. TheFatRat Provides An Easy way to create Backdoors and Payload which can bypass most anti-virus.

Information

This tool is for educational purpose only, usage of TheFatRat for attacking targets without prior mutual consent is illegal. Developers assume no liability and are not responsible for any misuse or damage cause by this program.

Features !

Fully Automating MSFvenom & Metasploit.

Local or remote listener Generation.

Easily Make Backdoor by category Operating System.

Generate payloads in Various formats.

Bypass anti-virus backdoors.

File pumper that you can use for increasing the size of your files.

The ability to detect external IP & Interface address .

Automatically creates AutoRun files for USB / CDROM exploitation

But it's shit! And your implementation sucks!

Yes, you're probably correct. Feel free to "Not use it" and there is a pull button to "Make it better.

Installation

Instructions on how to install TheFatRat

git clone https://github.com/Screetsec/TheFatRat.git

cd TheFatRat

chmod +x setup.sh && ./setup.sh

Update

cd TheFatRat

./update && chmod +x setup.sh && ./setup.sh

Troubleshoot on TheFatRat

chk_tools script to use in case of problems in setup.sh of fatrat this script will check if everything is in the right version to run fatrat and will also provide you a solution for the problem

cd TheFatRat

chmod +x chk_tools 

./chk_tools

GitTool

Git Best Tools Hacking For Kali Linux 

Download&install

gitclone https://github.com/Ha3MrX/GitTool

cd GitTool

chmod +x gittool.sh

./gittool.sh

Virus-Builder

This tool will generate a virus that can only destroy Windows computer. You can also configure to auto run in usb drive More scripts will be added with time

Usage

git clone https://github.com/Cyber-Dioxide/Virus-Builder/

cd Virus-Builder

ls

pip install -r requirements.txt

python3 Builder.py

Once Virus is generated! exit the tool and type 'cp ifection.bat/sdcard' without quotes

Installing

git clone https://github.com/mrprogrammer2938/DDos-Attack.git

cd DDos-attack

bash install.sh

python DDos.py

This program runs with root!

Run Root...

sudo su

Updating...

cd Update

./update

Uninstalling...

./uninstall.sh

What Is A DDos-Attack

A Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack is an attempt to make an online service unavailable

by overwhelming it with traffic from multiple sources. They target a wide variety of important resources from banks to news websites, and present a major challenge to making sure people can publish and access important information

Download & Install

$-git clone https://github.com/Ha3MrX/DDos-Attack

$- cd DDos-Attack

$- chmod +x ddos-attack.py

$- python ddos-attack.py

Malware Attacks Protection and Prevention Best Practices

Install Anti-Malware Software

While this sounds obvious, organizations can find it difficult to deploy anti-malware solutions on all their devices. Employees commonly use personal devices to access corporate systems, and those devices might not have adequate anti-malware protection. Some computing systems or devices may not support installation of anti-malware solutions —for example, legacy systems or internet of things (IoT) devices.

The first step to protect against malware is to ensure that all devices have strong anti-malware protection installed, and devices that don’t have it should be severely limited in their ability to access the network and sensitive systems.

Learn more in our detailed guide to anti-malware protection

Keep Software Updated

Software vendors regularly provide patches and updates to address new vulnerabilities as they arise. Many of these vulnerabilities could result in attackers deploying malware in the corporate environment. 

It is critical to check for and install all new software patches—this applies to operating systems, software tools, browsers, and plug-ins. It is advised to automate the patch management process to ensure updates happen quickly, and reduce the burden on IT teams.

Secure Browsers

Users are often infected by malware via their web browsers. A primary method for causing users to download malware is malicious pop ups—malicious sites and adware programs can create pop-ups to deliver malware or spyware to a user’s device, hijack the browser session, or perform other malicious actions. 

Other commonly exploited weaknesses in web browsers include malicious redirects, insecure plugins, DNS attacks, and insecure use of stored passwords and form data.

There are two main ways to protect against these threats. Use technological solutions that can limit impact, such as browser isolation and web filtering, and educate users on safe browsing habits.

Regulate Networking and Storage

These methods can help block common threat vectors that lead to malware infection:

Install or implement firewalls, intrusion detection systems (IDS) and intrusion prevention systems (IPS).

Do not allow users to connect USB drives or use unsanctioned cloud storage services.

Close unused ports and disable unused communication protocols.

Delete inactive user accounts and limit permissions to active accounts according to the least privilege principle.

Implement Email Security and Spam Protection

Email is an essential business communication tool, but it is also a common malware distribution channel. To reduce the risk of infection:

• Ensure all incoming email messages, including attachments, are scanned for malware.

• Use a sandbox to safely “detonate” suspicious files to protect against unknown threats.

• Set up a spam filter to reduce spam and inappropriate or suspicious emails.

• Only allow users to click company-approved links

• Clearly warn about emails that come from non-company or unknown email addresses.

• Learn more in our detailed guide to prevent malware attacks.

Preventing Malware with Perception Point

Perception Point developed next-gen static and dynamic engines that detect and prevent any attempt to deliver malware.

These dynamic and static engines are broken up into several elements: In the front line stands the Recursive Unpacker which extracts all files and URLs transferred, thus uncovering and thwarting evasion techniques. Next is the Threat Intelligence layer – The best-in-class intelligence sources coupled with internally developed engines scans all content to identify any “known” malware. Following the threat intelligence, is a stack of the leading Anti-virus engines in the world in addition to Perception Point’s Signature Analysis engines for highly complex malware. The last piece of the “Everyday Malware” stack, is Perception Point’s phishing engines which use in-house build image recognition capabilities to prevent any type of URL based malware delivery.

New, sophisticated malware attacks all rely on the usage of an exploitation technique. This means that prior to any advanced malware release, the attacker will try to use an exploit to set the ground ready for installing one of any millions of malware options he has in his hands.

Perception Point knows how attackers think. This is why we invented the HAP – a proprietary next-gen dynamic engine that has visibility into the exploit level. In other words, instead of chasing the many malware out there, we “cut off the root” and prevent the malware from even being delivered, not to mention from running.

Signature-Based Malware Detection

Signature-based malware detection works by comparing the digital signature of a piece of software or file against a database of known malware signatures.

When a piece of software or file is suspected of being malicious, the antivirus software will first calculate its digital signature. This is typically done using a cryptographic hash function, which produces a unique string of characters (the signature) based on the content of the file.

The signature is then compared against a database of known malware signatures. If there is a match, the antivirus software will flag the file as malicious and take appropriate action, such as quarantining or deleting the file.

Pros and cons: The main advantage of signature-based malware detection is that it can quickly and accurately identify known malware. However, it is not effective against new or unknown malware, as the database of known signatures does not yet contain a signature for the new malware.

Behavior-Based Malware Detection

Behavior-based malware detection works by monitoring the behavior of a piece of software or file to determine whether it exhibits characteristics that are typical of malware.

When a piece of software or file is suspected of being malicious, the antivirus software will begin monitoring its behavior. This typically involves tracking the actions that the software or file takes on the system, such as creating new files or modifying existing ones, and comparing them against a set of known malware behaviors.

If the software or file exhibits behavior that is consistent with known malware, the antivirus software will flag it as malicious and take appropriate action, such as quarantining or deleting the file.

Pros and cons: An advantage of behavior-based malware detection is that it can identify new or unknown malware, even if it does not have a known signature. This is because the detection is based on the behavior of the malware, rather than its signature. A disadvantage of behavior-based detection is that it can generate false positives, where benign software is mistakenly flagged as malware.

Recursive Unpacking

Recursive unpacking involves unpackaging, or decompressing, a piece of software or file multiple times to uncover any hidden malware that may be embedded within it.

When a piece of software or file is suspected of being malicious, the antivirus software will first attempt to unpack it using a decompression or decryption algorithm. If the software or file contains multiple layers of packaging, the antivirus software will continue to unpackage each layer until it reaches the innermost layer, scanning the content of each layer for known malware signatures. 

If it finds any, it will flag the file as malicious and take appropriate action, such as quarantining or deleting it.

Pros and cons: Recursive unpacking can uncover malware that uses packers, compression algorithms, or similar methods to evade detection by signature-based detection systems. However, it can be computationally intensive, and may not be suitable for real-time detection of malware in high-throughput environments.

Next-generation Sandboxing 

Sandbox technology is a method used by antivirus software to detect malware. It involves running suspicious software or files in a controlled environment, known as a sandbox, to observe their behavior and identify any malicious activity.

Modern sandbox solutions can run the suspicious software or file in a virtual machine, which is a software-based emulation of a computer system. This allows the antivirus software to observe the behavior of the software or file in a controlled environment, without exposing the host system to any potential harm.

Another technique is processor tracing, which involves monitoring the instructions that the suspicious software or file executes on the host system’s processor. This allows the antivirus software to identify any potentially malicious instructions, such as those that attempt to modify system files or download additional malware.

Pros and cons: Sandbox technology is effective at detecting malware that is designed to evade detection by other methods, such as signature-based detection or recursive unpacking. While modern sandbox techniques can analyze files in seconds, rather than minutes for traditional solutions, they are still computationally intensive, and less suitable for real-time detection.

 What Is Malware?

Malware (malicious software) is designed to disrupt the normal functioning of a computer or other device. It is an umbrella term for viruses, trojan horses, and other destructive computer programs that attackers use to compromise systems and networks, sabotage systems, and gain access to sensitive information.

Malware is usually a file or piece of code, often passed over a network, which can infect systems, steal data, grant unauthorized access, and otherwise advance an attacker’s goals. With millions of variants of malware commonly seen in the wild, there are many ways to infect a computer system. 

• Malware typically has one of the following goals: 

• Giving the attacker remote control over the infected system.

• Investigating the local network and helping attackers perform lateral movement.

• Identifying and granting access to sensitive systems and data, and exfiltrating data.

• Stealing funds using accounts or credentials on the victim’s device.

• Using the victim’s device to perform illegal or unwanted activities, such as sending spam or mining cryptocurrency.

Ransomware is rapidly growing in importance and becoming a top priority for security professionals. It is another type of malware that encrypts files on a victim’s computer and requires a ransom in exchange for a decryption key, which, even if the victim pays up, is often not provided. Global-scale ransomware attacks have illustrated the devastating impact that malware can have on individuals, organizations, and entire industries.

This is part of an extensive series of guides about hacking.

In this article

Common Malware Types and Examples

• Virus

• Worm

• Trojan

• Ransomware

• Spyware

• Adware

• Botnet

• Fileless Malware 

• A Short History of Malware Development 

• Malware Prevention Challenges 

• Disguised Malware

• Signature-Based Detection Is Not Enough

• Sandboxing Is Inefficient

• How Anti-Malware Technology Works 

• Signature-Based Malware Detection

• Behavior-Based Malware Detection

• Recursive Unpacking

• Next-generation Sandboxing 

• Malware Attacks Protection and Prevention Best Practices

• Install Anti-Malware Software

• Keep Software Updated

• Secure Browsers

• Regulate Networking and Storage

• Implement Email Security and Spam Protection

• Preventing Malware with Perception Point

• See Our Additional Guides on Key Hacking Topics

• Ransomware

• Phishing

• Cloud Security

• Common Malware Types and Examples

• Virus

A computer virus is malicious software that, once activated, copies itself from one folder to another and inserts its own code. Viruses can spread quickly and can infect systems to steal personal and financial information, send spam, or lock users out of their devices.

Worm

Worms are very similar to viruses in that they replicate themselves within a system, but unlike viruses, they cannot infect other programs. Once installed, the worm starts running silently, infecting computers without the user’s knowledge. Worms can replicate themselves hundreds of times, consuming system resources and damaging devices.

Trojan

A Trojan Horse is a type of malware that masquerades as legitimate software but is actually used for malicious purposes. Trojans claim to be free updates, games, or antivirus programs and can trick users into installing them on their devices. Once installed, Trojans run silently in the background to steal important data, install backdoors and perform other harmful activities.

Ransomware

Ransomware has massively grown in recent years and causes damage estimated at more than $8 billion worldwide by the end of the year. Ransomware is malware that encrypts a victim’s data and blocks access until a ransom is paid. The most common way ransomware is delivered is by clicking on a link in an email or opening a malicious attachment.

Spyware

Spyware is software that is installed on a device and secretly monitors a victim’s online activities. It collects data such as passwords, credit card numbers, and browsing activity.

Adware

Adware is malicious software that, once downloaded, displays unwanted advertisements on victims’ computers. Adware doesn’t always do immediate damage, but it can be very annoying as it leads users to unwanted advertisements, opens intrusive pop-up windows, and might redirect users to malicious sites.

Botnet

A bot is a malware-infected device that performs harmful tasks without the user’s knowledge. A botnet is a network of infected devices working together under the control of an attacker. Botnets can be used to conduct phishing campaigns, send spam, or conduct distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.

Fileless Malware 

Fileless malware is malicious software that does not rely on download of malicious files. Instead, it uses legitimate programs to infect a system. It is hard to detect and remove, because it only operates in memory and does not leave any footprint on the target system. 

Fileless malware is a powerful type of attack that can evade most security tools—only behavioral analysis and other advanced techniques can identify and address them. 

A Short History of Malware Development 

1980s: The Morris worm

One of the first and most prominent malware incidents in history was the Morris worm, introduced in 1988. Developed in academia, it could spread to other systems over a network, primarily by exploiting vulnerabilities in software called sendmail which was then commonly deployed on computers. The worm did not check whether the target system was already infected. It created multiple copies of itself on each system, consuming all system resources of the victim and rendering them unusable. 

1990s: The first hacker communities

The Morris worm showcased the power of malware, and led to the first conviction for malware development. Since then, many other types of malware have emerged. In the 1990s, computers became more ubiquitous and affordable to the general public, and the first hacker communities began to develop worldwide. 

Gradually, their focus shifted to making money. Programming started to be taught in schools and universities, and new high-level programming languages were created, making it easier for inexperienced people to start writing code. The same skills were exploited by criminals to write malicious code. 

2000s: Organized cybercrime and economically motivated threat actors

Over the next decade, malware development has become a lucrative and organized illicit activity. Specialized cybercrime organizations with clearly defined responsibilities began to emerge. 

Many of these groups focused on attacking individual computer users and stealing funds or carrying out fraud. They used all available money laundering methods, initially using money mules and later turning to cryptocurrencies to avoid being tracked. These groups are often referred to as economically motivated threat actors.

2010-2020s: Ransomware and the shift to larger targets

In recent years, the focus of cybercriminal groups has gradually shifted from attacking consumers or small businesses to bigger and more attractive targets—large institutions. The most common example is using ransomware to encrypt an organization’s files before demanding a ransom to restore access. Modern attacks make use of double extortion tactics—threatening either to encrypt files or to release sensitive material to the public.

Denial of Service Attack

Harin hana sabis (DoS) wani nau'in harin yanar gizo ne wanda ke da nufin sanya kwamfuta ko hanyar sadarwa ba ta samuwa ga masu amfani da ita. Ana iya ƙaddamar da hare-haren DoS ta amfani da dabaru iri-iri, kamar ambaliyar sabar tare da zirga-zirga ko yin amfani da lahani a cikin software ko hardware na tsarin.

SQL Injection

SQL allura wani nau'in harin yanar gizo ne wanda ya ƙunshi saka lambar ɓarna a cikin ma'ajin bayanai ta amfani da SQL (Structured Query Language). Manufar ita ce samun damar yin amfani da mahimman bayanai ko yin amfani da bayanai a cikin ma'ajin bayanai.

harin DNS

Harin Tsarin Sunan Domain (DNS) wani nau'in harin yanar gizo ne wanda ke kaiwa abubuwan more rayuwa da ke sa Intanet aiki. Ana iya amfani da hare-haren DNS don karkatar da zirga-zirgar intanit zuwa gidajen yanar gizo masu ɓarna, tarwatsa damar shiga yanar gizo na halal, ko satar bayanai masu mahimmanci.

Malware

Malware, gajeriyar software mai cutarwa, ita ce kowace software da aka ƙera don cutar da tsarin kwamfuta. Misalan malware sun haɗa da ƙwayoyin cuta, tsutsotsi, da Trojans. Malware na iya cutar da kwamfuta ta hanyoyi daban-daban, kamar ana zazzage su daga intanit, haɗa su da software na halal, ko kuma isar da su ta hanyar harin phishing.

Ransomware

Ransomware wani nau'in malware ne wanda ke ɓoye fayilolin wanda aka azabtar; maharan daga nan sai su nemi kudin fansa daga wanda abin ya shafa don dawo da damar yin amfani da fayilolin. Hare-haren Ransomware na iya zama ɓarna musamman saboda suna iya hana ƙungiyoyi samun dama ga mahimman bayanai da tsarin, wanda ke haifar da babbar matsala da asarar kuɗi.

Pishing

Pishing wani nau'i ne na harin yanar gizo wanda ya ƙunshi yaudarar mutane don fallasa mahimman bayanai, kamar bayanan shiga ko bayanan kuɗi, ta hanyar yin kamar halaltaccen mahalli. Hare-haren masu saɓo suna yawan amfani da imel ko kafofin watsa labarun don jawo waɗanda abin ya shafa su shiga danna hanyoyin haɗin yanar gizo ko zazzage malware.

Email

Imel spoofing wani nau'i ne na harin yanar gizo wanda maharin ya ƙirƙira adireshin mai aikawa a cikin imel. Manufar ita ce a yaudari mai karɓa don tunanin cewa imel ɗin ya fito daga halaltacciyar tushe, don haka za su buɗe shi kuma za su iya watsa bayanai masu mahimmanci ko danna hanyar haɗin yanar gizo.