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Trojan horse Last modified: Friday, August 18, 2006
A destructive program that masquerades as a benign application. Unlike viruses, Trojan horses do not replicate themselves but they can be just as destructive. One of the most insidious types of Trojan horse is a program that claims to rid your computer of viruses but instead introduces viruses onto your computer. The term comes from the a Greek story of the Trojan War, in which the Greeks give a giant wooden horse to their foes, the Trojans, ostensibly as a peace offering. But after the Trojans drag the horse inside their city walls, Greek soldiers sneak out of the horse's hollow belly and open the city gates, allowing their compatriots to pour in and capture Troy. Trojan horses are broken down in classification based on how they breach systems and the damage they cause. The seven main types of Trojan horses are: Remote Access Trojans Data Sending Trojans Destructive Trojans Proxy Trojans FTP Trojans security software disabler Trojans denial-of-service attack (DoS) Trojans Also see The Difference Between a Virus, Worm and Trojan Horse  in the Did You Know? section of Webopedia.
eSecurity Planet  A resource for daily information on e-security targeted to IT managers. The site provides users with information from a variety of sources, including experts at security product and services firms, and the consultants who follow the security industry. SecurityTracker.com Information on the latest security vulnerabilities, free SecurityTracker Alerts, and customized vulnerability notification services. Open Networks Today Networking news moves at a fast pace, and Open Networks Today lets you keep up with it. Open Networks Today offers its readers the ability to control how news is presented through customizing content filters, discussions, and news feed links. Webopedia's "Did You Know?" Article The Difference Between a Virus, Worm and Trojan Horse.	Related Categories Ethics Security Viruses Related Terms AV Killer CERT/CC countermeasure Data Sending Trojan Destructive Trojan dropper FTP Trojan macro virus malicious active content malicious code malware multipartite virus polymorphic virus quarantine Remote Access Trojan security software disabler Trojan spyware stealth virus virus worm