FOR130 - Survey of Malware Types

Most recent malware is used for financial or political gain, and although often referred to as "viruses," the attack and propagation methods are very different from true viruses. This course is an overview of the types of malware, how malware is categorized, and how each type of malware attacks a Windows system. This allows the forensic investigator to identify malware used in criminal attacks.

Level: Basic
Audience: Cyber forensics investigators
Topics:
  • What is malware?
    • Purpose
    • Common targets
    • Symptoms
  • Common malware types
    • Virus
    • Worm
    • Trojan horse
    • Back door
    • Adware
    • Spyware
    • Pornware
    • Ransomware
    • Logic bombs, "time bombs"
    • Rootkit
    • Virtualization attacks
    • Bots and botnets
    • Browser hijacks
    • Denial of Service (DoS)
  • Categorization of malware
    • By attack method
    • By distribution method
    • By infection and execution method
    • By payload behavior
  • Sources of malware for investigation
  • Resources
Prerequisites: Basic knowledge of Windows
Operating systems supported: All Windows versions
Durations and formats: 1 day lecture only