Have you ever installed a seemingly innocuous piece of software only to later notice suspicious things happening on your device? Chances are that the software was hiding what can be called a Trojan virus.
What is a Trojan virus — or ‘Trojan’, as it is often dubbed? It is basically malicious software, i.e. ‘malware’, disguised as a harmless file — perhaps a Word document, software update, or audio or video clip.
Once the Trojan has been installed, it can covertly wreak havoc long before you realize you have been duped. However, through providing you with a Trojan virus definition in depth, we can assist you in Trojan virus removal.
What is a 'Trojan Horse'?
The term ‘Trojan horse’ is another synonym for this deceptive malware. However, the term originally came from the mythological tale of the ‘Trojan horse’, a wooden horse supposedly used for subterfuge by the ancient Greeks.
The story goes that, during the Trojan War, the Greeks hid a group of soldiers in the horse before pretending to retreat — leaving the Trojans to seize upon the wooden model and bring it into their home city, Troy, as a victory prize.
Unfortunately for the Trojans, the Greek force secreted in the horse crept out of it that evening and enabled the rest of the Greek army to enter the city — resulting in Troy’s destruction and the end of the war.
How Might You Install a Trojan Virus?
Obviously, you wouldn’t deliberately install what you know to be a Trojan virus. However, purveyors of these programs can get them onto unsuspecting victims’ devices through various sneaky means.
Here are some ways you could inadvertently run into a Trojan’s trap:
- Open an email attachment: You might get an email purportedly from a person or organization you trust but actually from a scammer who has attached a Trojan to the email.
- Visit an infected website: Some dubious people may hijack a website and inject malicious codes into it. Then, as a result of you simply loading this site, a Trojan could be foisted upon your device.
- Download content from a file-sharing website: Though many people will use such a site to source legitimate software, hackers could hide Trojans in copies of it before uploading them to the site.
One crucial point of differentiation between standard viruses and Trojans is that the latter don’t self-replicate.
While the former are able to spread around the device by infecting numerous files, folders and software applications in relatively quick succession, a Trojan will stay wherever it has been copied or downloaded.
Still, despite the non-replicating nature of the Trojan itself, its harmful effects can be extensive if someone is tricked into executing it.
What Can Trojan Viruses Do?
What is a Trojan’s ‘payload’? This word is used for the malicious codes built into the virus. The payload determines how much and what kind of damage the virus is capable of inflicting.
In assessing the differing payloads of Trojans, computing experts can sort them into various categories. These include:
- Backdoor Trojans: Much like the Greek force from the Trojan horse opened Troy’s gates for fellow Greek soldiers, a backdoor Trojan allows its creator to remotely access the device.
- Remote access Trojans (RATs): These are akin to backdoor Trojans — except that, while the former install backdoor programs permitting hackers remote access, a RAT is itself a backdoor program.
- Exploits: These are coded to capitalize on a vulnerability in a specific piece of software. However, the attack itself does not begin until the vulnerable software is launched on the infected device.
- Spy Trojans: These constitute Trojan spyware. What is Trojan spyware? It is Trojan malware that monitors various aspects of how the device is used. For example, screenshots may be taken and typing monitored.
As you can see, then, exactly what kind of threat a Trojan poses to your device will ultimately depend on what the malware was designed to do. Generally, though, you can expect Trojans to:
- Copy, modify and delete data
- Add further malware
- Hamper the device’s performance
- Steal personal information of the device owner
Once you know what damage a Trojan can cause, it might not be too long before you can reliably discern whether one happens to be on your system.
How to Get Rid of a Trojan Virus
If you know where the Trojan is hiding, you can simply uninstall the software that is concealing it. The uninstalling procedure will depend on the operating system — such as whether it is Windows, macOS or Android.
Alas, one problem is that, in just removing the Trojan itself, you might not necessarily banish all of the adverse effects it has sprung upon the system.
That’s because, as we have established, a Trojan virus can install other malware that will itself need removing. For this reason, tackling a Trojan just by uninstalling it like any other software can be surprisingly inefficient.
How to Remove Trojan Virus Traces
Using an operating system’s usual uninstall functions to remove all of the malicious programs on the device can be laborious and time-consuming.
In fact, the same could be said even just of attempts to discern where all of those programs are in the first place.
This situation naturally raises the question of how to get rid of Trojan virus damage in the quickest possible way. We would recommend that, on a Windows PC, you use antivirus software like our own System Shield product.
The iolo System Shield AntiVirus and AntiSpyware software can be used on all Windows PC operating system versions going back to Windows 7.
This software will be able to detect and remove a wide range of malware — including Trojans and any other dangerous programs — on the PC.
If you have any remaining questions about how System Shield works, you are welcome to phone our Pasadena-based team on (801) 523-6763.
We also have a 24/7 technical support line for helping users of Macs and mobile devices to remove Trojan viruses without causing accidental issues.
