COM520 Written Assignment 3 Answer Key
Any computer or device can be vulnerable to malware. Vulnerabilities differ depending on how the computer or device is used and what software is installed. For each of the scenarios below, select the most likely type of malware that is present on the computer or device. Select from: a. Virus b. Worm c. Trojan horse

d. Rootkit e. Spyware

Suspected malware scenarios: d 1. You notice that your computer is getting slower each day. You have terminated unneeded programs, disabled unneeded services, and have recently defragmented the disks. Your computer has plenty of memory but it still seems slow. Since it only started getting slow within the last two weeks—you suspect malware. You have carefully examined each of the programs running but there are no unusual programs. However, you do notice that there is a substantial disk activity, even when no programs are running that should be using the disk. What kind of malware do you think is present in your computer?

c

2. You downloaded a new program to display the current weather on your desktop. Since you installed the weather application, you noticed a lot of network activity, and your computer is getting slow. When you terminate the weather application your computer speeds up. What kind of malware do you think is present in your computer?

e

3. Within a week after ordering a new widescreen television (TV) from an online retailer, you start getting many e-mail messages advertising products related to TVs. What kind of malware do you think is present in your computer?

c

4. You downloaded a new game to your personal mobile device that runs Windows Mobile. You notice on your mobile service bill that several charges appeared for calls to premium numbers that started three days after loading the new game. What kind of malware do you think is present in your computer?