Western Governors University (WGU) ITEC2022 D386 Hardware and Operating Systems Essentials Practice Exam

A Trojan is a type of malware that disguises itself as a legitimate program. It typically tricks users into running it, thinking it serves a useful purpose, while its true intent is to carry out harmful activities on the system. Once installed, a Trojan can give attackers unauthorized access to the system, allowing them to steal information, install other malware, or cause damage.

This type of malware gets its name from the legendary Trojan Horse, which was a deceptive tactic used in ancient times. The stealthy nature of Trojans makes them particularly dangerous, as users often remain unaware of the malicious activities being conducted in the background.

In contrast, a worm is a standalone malware that replicates itself to spread to other systems, adware is designed to serve advertisements and typically does not cause direct harm to systems, and a rootkit is used to gain unauthorized root or admin access but doesn’t typically disguise itself as a legitimate program in the same manner as a Trojan does.