Trojans

What is a Trojan Virus? A few years ago I would have said “it’s a virus that looks like a horse? And it crashes your computer?” Now, I would say “this means you’re going to need to call a computer tech and you might need to have your OS reinstalled.”  Sometimes I also like to quote our video tutor, James Conrad, “there is a very technical term we technical guys call this state, and that is Screwed.”  Wikipedia defines it as software which purports to do a certain type of action, but in fact, performs another. It does just that.

 

I recall a certain customer (let’s call him Mr. Man) who needed assistance with removing a Trojan from his computer. He had acquired that virus by accidentally clicking on an email attachment from an unknown person. Mr. Man agreed for us to perform remote access so we could do it properly for him. We had downloaded and installed AVG’s free trial and were in the process of scanning his computer when we saw a pop-up on his screen. It was about 3 x2 inches and had a picture of this guy with a big mischievous grin telling us that he is currently uploading a copy of Mr. Man’s files to his personal site. By experience, people would usually: a. freak out; b. throw a fit; c. threaten to sue; or d. all of the above, but Mr. Man just sat there and said “I hope he likes my mother-in-law’s photos”. He wasn’t worried at all. He even mentioned that he didn’t have that much money, doesn’t have any credit cards, and has no idea what that guy would want from him. Whether it was a hoax virus or not, I advised Mr. Man to shut down his computer and unplug his modem first.

 

People ask me where Trojan viruses come from. I start with this new thing I’ve read about: Social Engineering. To better explain it to them, I just say, “there are a lot of people with too much time on their hands”. Where they respond, “I hope they get a harmless hobby like stamp collecting.”