Year 9 – Cybersecurity
Lesson 4 – Rise of the bots
Malware: [viruses]
What is [viruses]?
What the law says
Case study
[Malware] in the real
world (Explorer task)
Useful links:
Viruses
● https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_virus
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Learner activity sheet
A computer virus is a program that is able to copy itself when it is run. Often,
computer viruses are run as a part of other programs. Any program that is affected by
the virus is "infected". Biological viruses also work that way, as they copy themselves
as part of other organisms. This is how the computer virus got its name.
• Use a trusted antivirus product, such as Norton AntiVirus
Basic, and keep it updated with the latest virus definitions.
Norton Security Premium offers additional protection for even
more devices, plus backup.
• Avoid clicking on any pop-up advertisements.
• Always scan your email attachments before opening them.
• Always scan the files that you download using file sharing
programs
•
Malware, short for malicious software, is any software intentionally designed to
cause damage to a computer. There are different kinds of malware that can hurt
computers, such as viruses, trojan horses, spyware and ransomware. These programs
can steal passwords, delete files, collect personal information, or even stop a
computer from working at all. Computer security or anti-malware software is usually
good at stopping malware from installing itself. When security software is not
installed, malware can get into the computer. Getting rid of malware can be difficult,
even when using programs designed to remove it.
Last updated: 21-05-21
 ● https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_virus#First_examples
● https://us.norton.com/internetsecurity-malware-what-is-a-computer-virus.html

Worms

● https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_worm
● https://us.norton.com/internetsecurity-malware-what-is-a-computer-worm.html
● https://antivirus.comodo.com/blog/computer-safety/computer-worm-definition

Ransomware

● https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ransomware
● https://www.malwarebytes.com/ransomware
● https://uk.norton.com/internetsecurity-malware-ransomware-5-dos-and-donts.html

Trojans

● https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trojan_horse_(computing)
● https://us.norton.com/internetsecurity-malware-what-is-a-trojan.html
● https://www.kaspersky.co.uk/resource-center/threats/trojans

Resources are updated regularly — the latest version is available at: ncce.io/tcc.

This resource is licensed under the Open Government Licence, version 3. For more information on this licence, see
ncce.io/ogl.

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