Malicious Tools are malicious software programs that have been designed for automatically creating viruses, worms or Trojans , conducting DoS attacks on remote servers, hacking other computers, and more.
How Malicious Tools can impact you
Unlike viruses, worms and Trojans, malware in the Malicious Tools subclass does not present a direct threat to the computer that it’s actually running on, and the program’s malicious payload is only delivered on the direct order of the user.
The Malicious Tool subclass is broken down into different behaviours, according to the payload:
- Constructor
Constructor programs are designed to create new viruses, worms and Trojans. They can generate malicious program source code, object modules and / or malicious files. - DoS
These programs are designed to conduct Denial of Service (DoS) attacks against a victim computer. The programs send numerous requests to the targeted victim computer and, if that computer does not have enough resources to process all of the requests, a denial of service will result. - Email-Flooder
Spammers sometimes use these programs to flood email channels with meaningless messages. - Flooder
Flooder programs are sometimes used by spammers to flood other network channels – such as IRC (Internet Relay Chat). - IM-Flooder
Spammers sometimes use these programs to flood instant messenger channels – such as ICQ, MSN Messenger, AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo Pager, Skype and others – with meaningless messages. - SMS-Flooder
SMS-Flooder programs are sometimes used by spammers in order to flood text message channels with useless messages. - HackTool
These programs can be used to add new users in the list of permitted system visitors and also delete information from system logs – in order to hide the malicious user’s presence on the system. Malicious users employ HackTool programs when they’re setting up attacks on local or remote computers. - Hoax
Hoax programs do not damage your computer. Instead, they send messages that tell you that damage has been – or will be – done, or they warn you about a threat that doesn’t actually exist. - Spoofer
Spoofer programs substitute the address of the party that’s sending a message or network requests. They are used for a number of purposes – for example to prevent the recipient identifying the sender of a message. - VirTool
These programs can be used to modify other malicious programs – to try to prevent an antivirus solution detecting the malicious software.
How to protect yourself against Malicious Tools
Installing and maintaining anti-malware software on your devices is essential. Kaspersky Lab has developed award-winning Internet security technologies and has products that can protect the following devices:
- Windows PCs
- Linux computers
- Apple Macs
- Smartphones
- Tablets
