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Zero Day Attack:

1. A zero–day (or zero-hour or day zero) attack or threat is an attack that exploits a previously unknown vulnerability in a computer application or operating system, one that developers have not had time to address and patch. It is called a “zero-day” because the programmer has had zero days to fix the flaw (in other words, a patch is not available). Once a patch is available, it is no longer a “zero-day exploit”. It is common for individuals or companies who discover zero-day attacks to sell them to government agencies for use in cyberwarfare.

Source: Wikipedia

Mac Defender:

1. Mac Defender (also known as Mac Protector, Mac Security,Mac Guard,Mac Shield, and FakeMacDef) is an internet rogue security program that can be installed by unwitting users of computers running the Mac OS X operating system. The Mac security firm Intego discovered the fake antivirus software on 2 May 2011, with a patch not being provided by Apple until 31 May.  The software has been described as the first major malware threat to the Macintosh platform (although it does not attach to or damage any part of OS X). However, it is not the first Mac-specific Trojan, and is not self-propagating.

   Users typically encounter the program when opening an image found on a search engine. It appears as a pop-up indicating that viruses have been detected on the users’ computer and suggests they download a program which, if installed, provides the users’ personal information to unauthorized third parties.

   The software has been traced through German websites, which have been closed down, to the Russian online payment ChronoPay. AppleCare employees were told not to assist callers in removing the software, but Apple later promised a software patch. The Mac OS X security update 2011-003 was released on 31 May 2011, and includes not only an automatic removal of the trojan, and other security updates, but a new feature that automatically updates malware definitions from Apple.

   Source: Wikipedia

Malware:

1. Malware, short for malicious software, is any software used to disrupt computer operation, gather sensitive information, or gain access to private computer systems. Malware is defined by its malicious intent, acting against the requirements of the computer user, and does not include software that causes unintentional harm due to some deficiency. The term badware is sometimes used, and applied to both true (malicious) malware and unintentionally harmful software.Malware may be stealthy, intended to steal information or spy on computer users for an extended period without their knowledge, as for example Regin, or it may be designed to cause harm, often as sabotage (e.g., Stuxnet), or to extort payment (CryptoLocker). ‘Malware’ is an umbrella term used to refer to a variety of forms of hostile or intrusive software, including computer viruses, worms, trojan horses, ransomware, spyware, adware, scareware, and other malicious programs. It can take the form of executable code, scripts, active content, and other software.  Malware is often disguised as, or embedded in, non-malicious files. As of 2011 the majority of active malware threats were worms or trojans rather than viruses.^[

Source: Wikipedia

Virus:

A computer virus is a malware program that, when executed, replicates by inserting copies of itself (possibly modified) into other computer programs, data files, or the boot sector of the hard drive; when this replication succeeds, the affected areas are then said to be “infected”. Viruses often perform some type of harmful activity on infected hosts, such as stealing hard disk space or CPU time, accessing private information, corrupting data, displaying political or humorous messages on the user’s screen, spamming their contacts, logging their keystrokes, or even rendering the computer useless. However, not all viruses carry a destructive payload or attempt to hide themselves—the defining characteristic of viruses is that they are self-replicating computer programs which install themselves without user consent.

Virus writers use social engineering and exploit detailed knowledge of security vulnerabilities to gain access to their hosts’ computing resources. The vast majority of viruses target systems running Microsoft Windows, employing a variety of mechanisms to infect new hosts, and often using complex anti-detection/stealth strategies to evade antivirus software.Motives for creating viruses can include seeking profit, desire to send a political message, personal amusement, to demonstrate that a vulnerability exists in software, for sabotage and denial of service, or simply because they wish to explore artificial life and evolutionary algorithms.

Computer viruses currently cause billions of dollars’ worth of economic damage each year, due to causing systems failure, wasting computer resources, corrupting data, increasing maintenance costs, etc. In response, free, open-source antivirus tools have been developed, and an industry of antivirus software has cropped up, selling or freely distributing virus protection to users of various operating systems. Even though no currently existing antivirus software is able to uncover all computer viruses (especially new ones), computer security researchers are actively searching for new ways to enable antivirus solutions to more effectively detect emerging viruses, before they have already become widely distributed.

Source: Wikipedia

Antivirus Software

Antivirus or anti-virus software (often abbreviated as AV), sometimes known as anti-malware software, is computer software used to prevent, detect and remove malicious software.

Antivirus software was originally developed to detect and remove computer viruses, hence the name. However, with the proliferation of other kinds of malware, antivirus software started to provide protection from other computer threats. In particular, modern antivirus software can protect from: malicious Browser Helper Objects (BHOs), browser hijackers, ransomware, keyloggers, backdoors, rootkits, trojan horses, worms, malicious LSPs, dialers, fraudtools, adware and spyware. Some products also include protection from other computer threats, such as infected and malicious URLs, spam, scam and phishing attacks, online identity (privacy), online banking attacks, social engineering techniques, Advanced Persistent Threat (APT), botnets DDoS attacks.

Source: Wikipedia

Firewall

In computing, a firewall is a network security system that monitors and controls the incoming and outgoing network traffic based on predetermined security rules.^[1] A firewall typically establishes a barrier between a trusted, secure internal network and another outside network, such as the Internet, that is assumed to not be secure or trusted.^[2] Firewalls are often categorized as either network firewalls or host-based firewalls. Network firewalls are a software appliance running on general purpose hardware or hardware-based firewall computer appliances that filter traffic between two or more networks. Host-based firewalls provide a layer of software on one host that controls network traffic in and out of that single machine.

Source: Wikipedia

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