Definition
In computing, a Trojan horse (or simply Trojan) is a malware that misleads users of its true intent by disguising itself as a normal program. The term is derived from the ancient Greek story of the deceptive Trojan Horse that led to the fall of the city of Troy.
Trojans are generally spread by some form of social engineering.
- For example, where a user is duped into executing an email attachment disguised to appear innocuous (e.g., a routine form to be filled in), or by clicking on a fake advertisement on the Internet
Ransomware attacks are often carried out using a Trojan. Unlike computer viruses and worms, Trojans generally do not attempt to inject themselves into other files or otherwise propagate themselves.
See also: drive-by download