( TROJAN HORSE VIRUS )

HISTORY

First of all it would be useful to state that a Trojan horse virus represents an infectious program able to cause serious damage to a computer. The Trojan horse can infect a user's machine without being noticed. As soon as it penetrates a computer, the Trojan horse scans it with the goal of stealing personal data.

One of the earliest Trojan horse viruses was detected in the 1980s, when several computers were affected. As it was earlier mentioned Trojan horse viruses are created in order to steal useful information such as passwords. They are developed by hackers, who, after stealing data, can use the information for various purposes, including blackmailing. Some of the first Trojan horse viruses were able to infect Windows32 files, but since then these programs evolved, and today they can cause even more harm.

The name of the Trojan horse comes from a story from Greek mythology about the siege of Troy. Greeks were unable to conquer the city until they built a huge wooden Trojan horse and hid a number of warriors in it. The wooden horse was supposed to be a present from the Greeks, informing that they sailed away and no longer wanted to conquer the city. When the Trojan horse was pulled into the city, the small army of Greeks inside it waited till dark and then invaded the Troy, destroying it, thus leading to the end of the war. In contrast to the wooden Trojan horse, the Trojan horse virus spread worldwide and is still popular today.

According to some online sources the first Trojan horse virus was dubbed the pest trap, also known asSpy Sheriff. This Trojan horse managed to infect about one million PCs worldwide. It did not damage any files on a computer, instead it led to the appearance of a large number of pop-ups, most of them looking like warnings that warned users about the necessity to installs some kind of software application. As soon as the Trojan horse computer virus was installed on the machine, it was quite difficult to get rid of it. In case the user tried to erase it, the Trojan horse would simply reinstall itself from hidden affected data files on the computer.

Often Trojan horse viruses come in packages that at first sight seem to be rather harmless. However, this is exactly what a Trojan horse should do until it affects a computer so hackers could remotely control the programs of the infected machine. There was a popular case that involved a professor who was accused of downloading about 1,000 child porn images, but who was released after it was discovered that the professor's computer was affected by a Trojan horse virus that downloaded the pictures. Despite the false accusations, the outcome of the situation had a serious impact on the professor's reputation.

During the 1980s there was an increase of the Bulletin Board System, which was computer system running software that permitted users to penetrate the system through a phone line. The BBS contributed to a fast spread of Trojan horse viruses, because after users logged in, they carried out such functions as uploading and downloading software and data sharing (some of which was infected). At that time computer viruses were created to aim popular software traders.

A dangerous Trojan horse virus was the Vundo, which used a lot of memory of the operating system at different intervals and generated a lot of pop-ups that informed the user about a number of software programs that need to be installed on the computer. The installed software included one or more computer viruses. Unlike the Spy Sheriff, it was rather easy to get rid of Vundo. There is one important thing to remember: a Trojan horse virus cannot be turned on unless a user doesn't activate the program that features the virus. It is important that you do not download unknown programs, especially if someone or something persuades you to do so.

CREATORS

The Tel Aviv District Court Monday sentenced Ruth and Michael Haefrati to four and two years inprisonment, respectively, for the development of the "Trojan horse" virus that was used for corporate espionage.

The Haefratis admitted to the charges against them in a plea bargain two weeks ago. The prosecutor and defense attorney jointly asked the court to agree to the sentences.

It was also agreed that the convicted couple pay NIS 1 million to each of the victims of the corporate spying.

Under the plea bargain, Ruth Haefrati admitted to fraud, computer virus insertion, covert wiretapping and invasion of privacy. Her husband, Michael, admitted to having been an accomplice to the same crimes.

The prosecutor said that the evidence points to Ruth as the motivating force behind the relationships with the private investigation companies which made use of the virus. Her husband seems to have played a background role.

The Haefratis attorney told the judge that his clients are gifted people who became involved in criminal acts, although their original intent was to market the program to security forces. He added that in early 2005, a short time before their apprehension, the couple were in advanced marketing negotiations with Israeli Police.

Towards the end of the trial Ruth Haefrati asked for "the public's forgiveness in general, and the business sector in particular." She became emotional when speaking about the couple's forced separation from their daughter. She also asked her husband's forgiveness, "for ruining his life's work, which was of pure intent."

Varda Raziel and Amnon Jacont, whose infected computer led to the discovery of the virus, were present at the sentence hearing. Raziel, Michael Haefrati's ex-fiance, was unhappy with the sentence.

"Ruth Haefrati's story, in which it was she who ruined her husband's life work, is unfounded. I have no doubt he was the force behind the affair. He always acts and then hides behind others," Raziel said.

HOW IT WORKS

One of the most enduring stories of the Trojan War, the most important conflict in Greek mythology, is the tale of the Trojan horse. Trying to find a way into the city of Troy, the great warrior Odysseus ordered his men to build a massive wooden horse, one big enough for several Greek soldiers to fit in. Once the structure was finished, he and several other warriors climbed inside, while the rest of the Greeks sailed away from Troy. One man named Sinon, however, stayed behind in order to deceive the Trojans, convincing them that his fellow Greeks had betrayed him and fled from the city. The wooden horse, he told the Trojans, was safe and would bring them luck.


After some discussion over the matter, the Trojans agreed to wheel the horse through their gates, unknowingly giving the Greek enemy access to the city. After proclaiming victory and partying all night, the citizens of Troy went to sleep -- it was then that Odysseus and his men crept out of the Trojan horse and wreaked havoc on the city.











Although you've probably heard of the Trojan horse from Greek mythology, chances are you've also heard of Trojan horses in reference to computers. Trojan horses are common but dangerous programs that hide within other seemingly harmless programs. They work the same way the ancient Trojan horse did: Once they're installed, the program will infect other files throughout your system and potentially wreak havoc on your computer. They can even send important information from your computer over the Internet to the developer of the virus. The developer can then essentially control your computer, slowing your system's activity or causing your machine to crash.




Though they're not actually viruses, they're referred to as "Trojan horse viruses," "Trojan viruses," "Trojan horses" or just plain "Trojans." Regardless of what people call them, they all mean same thing. But what happened? How did you let this Trojan horse into your computer in the first place? And what can you do stop one from getting in?

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN VIRUSES, WORMS AND TROJANS

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