ASSESSMENT FOR INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTING

Name: Vicente, Mark Jolo Aldea

Level/Course: 3rd year/Bachelor of Science in Computer Science

Part A
1. OS Communication
Definition: In case of distributed systems which are a collection of processors that do not share
memory, peripheral devices, or a clock, the operating system manages communications between all the
processes. Multiple processes communicate with one another through communication lines in the network.

Examples: The OS handles routing and connection strategies, and the problems of contention and security.
Following are the major activities of an operating system with respect to communication:

 Two processes often require data to be transferred between them

 Both the processes can be on one computer or on different computers, but are connected through a
computer network.
 Communication may be implemented by two methods, either by Shared Memory or by Message
Passing.

2. OS Error Handling
Definition: Errors can occur anytime and anywhere. An error may occur in CPU, in I/O devices or in
the memory hardware. Error handling refers to the response and recovery procedures from error conditions
present in a software application. In other words, it is the process comprised of anticipation, detection and
resolution of application errors, programming errors or communication errors.

Examples: Following are the major activities of an operating system with respect to error handling:

 The lack of sufficient memory to run an application or a memory conflict with another program.
 The OS constantly checks for possible errors.
 The OS takes an appropriate action to ensure correct and consistent computing.

3. OS Resource Management
Definition: Resource management is the dynamic allocation and de-allocation by an operating system of
processor cores, memory pages, and various types of bandwidth to computations that compete for those
resources. The objective is to allocate resources so as to optimize responsiveness subject to the finite resources
available.

Example: Following are the major activities of an operating system with respect to resource management

 The OS manages all kinds of resources using schedulers.

  CPU scheduling algorithms are used for better utilization of CPU.

4. OS Protection
Definition: Considering a computer system having multiple users and concurrent execution of multiple
processes, the various processes must be protected from each other's activities. Protection refers to a
mechanism or a way to control the access of programs, processes, or users to the resources defined by a
computer system.

Example: Following are the major activities of an operating system with respect to protection:

 The OS ensures that all access to system resources is controlled.

 The OS ensures that external I/O devices are protected from invalid access attempts.
 The OS provides authentication features for each user by means of passwords.

Part B
1. History of Malware

The term malware was first used by computer scientist and security researcher Yisrael Radai in 1990.
However, malware existed long before this. One of the first known examples of malware was the Creeper
virus in 1971, which was created as an experiment by BBN Technologies engineer Robert Thomas. Creeper
was designed to infect mainframes on ARPANET. While the program did not alter functions -- or steal or
delete data -- it moved from one mainframe to another without permission while displaying a teletype
message that read, "I'm the creeper: Catch me if you can." Creeper was later altered by computer scientist
Ray Tomlinson, who added the ability to self-replicate to the virus and created the first known computer
worm. The concept of malware took root in the technology industry, and examples of viruses and worms
began to appear on Apple and IBM personal computers in the early 1980s before becoming popularized
following the introduction of the World Wide Web and the commercial internet in the 1990s. Since then,
malware, and the security strategies to prevent it, have only grown more complex.

In addition.

A brief look at the history of malware shows us that this malicious menace has been with us since the
dawn of computing itself. According to Scientific American, the idea of a computer virus extends back to
1949, when early computer scientist John von Neumann wrote the “Theory and Organization of
Complicated Automata,” a paper that postulates how a computer program could reproduce itself. In the
1950s, employees at Bell Labs gave life to von Neumann’s idea when they created a game called “Core
Wars.” In the game, programmers would unleash software “organisms” that competed for control of the
computer.

The earliest documented viruses began to appear in the early 1970s. Historians often credit the “Creeper
Worm,” an experimental self-replicating program written by Bob Thomas at BBN Technologies with being
the first virus. Creeper gained access via the ARPANET and copied itself to remote systems where it
displayed the message: “I’m the creeper, catch me if you can!”

The term “virus” however, wasn’t introduced until the mid-eighties. Fred Cohen, often considered the
father of what we know today as a computer virus, coined the term in his 1986 Ph.D. thesis. He defined a
“virus” in a single sentence as: “A program that can infect other programs by modifying them to include a,
possibly evolved, version of itself.”

From these simple and benign beginnings, a massive and diabolical industry was born. Today, according
to The Anti-Phishing Workgroup, malware has infected one-third of the world’s computers. The
consequences are staggering.  Cybersecurity Ventures reports that losses due to cybercrime, including
malware, are anticipated to hit $6 trillion annually by 2021.

In this post, we’ll take a brief look at the history of malware and how it evolved and impacted the world.
For a more in-depth look at the various types of malware, see Lastline’s blog Malware Types and
Classifications.

History of Malware — The Early Years

Early malware was primitive, often spreading entirely offline via floppy disks carried from computer to
computer by human hands. As networking and the internet matured, malware authors were quick to adapt
their malicious code and take advantage of the new communication medium.

Here’s a representative list of some of the significant early versions of malware and how they impacted
the world[i].

 1971 Creeper: An experiment designed to test how a program might move between
computers.
 1974 – Wabbit: A self-replicating program that made multiple copies of itself on a
computer until it bogs down the system to such an extent that system performance is reduced and
eventually crashes. Researchers named this virus “wabbit” (rabbit) because of the speed at which
it was able to replicate.
 1982 –  Elk Cloner: Written by a 15-year-old, Elk Cloner is one of the earliest
widespread, self-replicating viruses to affect personal computers. Elk Cloner displayed a friendly
 little poem on the infected system: “It will get on all your disks; It will infiltrate your chips; Yes,
it’s Cloner!”
 1986 –  Brain Boot Sector Virus: Generally regarded as the first virus to infect MS-
DOS computers. Its origin stems from two brothers in Pakistan who created it to test loopholes in
their company’s software.
 1986 — PC-Write Trojan: Malware authors disguised one of the earliest Trojans as a
popular shareware program called “PC-Writer.” Once on a system, it would erase all of a user’s
files.
 1988 — Morris Worm: This worm infected a substantial percentage of computers
connected to ARPANET, the forerunner of the Internet, essentially bringing the network to its
knees within 24 hours. Its release marked a new dawn for malicious software. The author, Robert
Morris, became the first malware author convicted for his crimes.
 1991 — Michelangelo Virus: It was so named because the virus was designed to erase
information from hard drives on March 6th, the birthday of the famed Renaissance artist. The
virus was at the center of a wild media storm with panicked reporters claiming that it had
infected millions of computers and that the world would see dire consequences on March 6th. In
reality, the virus only impacted about 10,000 systems, but the hype significantly raised public
awareness of computer viruses.
 1999 — Melissa Virus: Generally acknowledged as the first mass-emailed virus, Melissa
utilized Outlook address books from infected machines, and mailed itself to 50 people at a time.
History of Malware — Toolkits and Astonishing Rates of Infection

Between 2000 and 2010, malware grew significantly, both in number and in how fast infections spread. At the
start of the new millennium, Internet and email worms were making headlines across the globe. Later, we
witnessed a dramatic increase in malware toolkits, including the now infamous Sony rootkit, which was
instrumental in malware authors including rootkits in most modern malware. Crimeware kits aimed specifically
at websites also rose in popularity, and the number of compromised websites escalated correspondingly. SQL
injection attacks became a leading threat, claiming popular victims such as IKEA.

Here’s a summary of some of the significant malware released between 2000 and 2010:

 2000 – ILOVEYOU Worm: Spreading by way of an email sent with the seemingly

benign subject line, “ILOVEYOU,” the worm infected an estimated 50 million computers.
Damages caused major corporations and government bodies, including portions of the Pentagon
and British Parliament, to shut down their email servers. The worm spread globally and cost
more than $5.5 billion in damages.
 2001 – Anna Kournikova Virus: Emails spread this nasty virus that purported to contain
pictures of the very attractive female tennis player, but in fact hid the malicious malware.
 2003 – SQL Slammer Worm: One of the fastest spreading worms of all time, SQL
Slammer infected nearly 75,000 computers in ten minutes. The worm had a major global effect,
slowing Internet traffic worldwide via denial of service.
 2004 – Cabir Virus: Although this virus caused little if any damage, it is noteworthy
because it is widely acknowledged as the first mobile phone virus.
 2005 – Koobface Virus: One of the first instances of malware to infect PCs and then
propagate to social networking sites. If you rearrange the letters in “Koobface” you get
“Facebook.” The virus also targeted other social networks like MySpace and Twitter.
  2008 – Conficker Worm:  A combination of the words “configure” and “ficker”, this
sophisticated worm caused some of the worst damage seen since Slammer appeared in 2003.
History of Malware – State Sponsored, Sophisticated and Profitable

Between 2010 and the present time, we’ve again observed significant evolution in the sophistication of
malware. Organized crime and state sponsors upped the game dramatically with large, well-funded
development teams. These malicious workgroups continue to evolve today, developing advanced malware with
evasion tactics that outsmart many conventional anti-malware systems. Infiltrating factories and military
systems became a common reality, and the monetization of malware grew rapidly with dramatic growth in
ransomware and other illegal schemes.

Here are some notable varieties of malware that have had a major impact between 2010 and today.

 2010 – Stuxnet Worm: Shortly after its release, security analysts openly speculated that
this malicious code was designed with the express purpose of attacking Iran’s nuclear program
and included the ability to impact hardware as well as software. The incredibly sophisticated
worm is believed to be the work of an entire team of developers, making it one of the most
resource-intensive bits of malware created to date.
 2011 — Zeus Trojan: Although first detected in 2007, the author of the Zeus Trojan
released the source code to the public in 2011, giving the malware new life. Sometimes called
Zbot, this Trojan has become one of the most successful pieces of botnet software in the world,
impacting millions of machines. It is often used to steal banking information by man-in-the-
browser keystroke logging and form grabbing.
 2013 – Cryptolocker: One of many early ransomware programs, Cryptolocker had a
significant impact globally and helped fuel the ransomware era.
 2014 – Backoff: Malware designed to compromise Point-of-Sale (POS) systems to steal
credit card data.
 2016 – Cerber: One of the heavy-hitters in the ransomware sphere. It’s also one of the
most prolific crypto-malware threats. At one point, Microsoft found more enterprise PCs infected
with Cerber than any other ransomware family.
 2017 – WannaCry Ransomware: Exploiting a vulnerability first uncovered by the
National Security Agency, the WannaCry Ransomware brought major computer systems in
Russia, China, the UK, and the US to their knees, locking people out of their data and demanding
they pay a ransom or lose everything. The virus affected at least 150 countries, including
hospitals, banks, telecommunications companies, warehouses, and many other industries.
History of Malware — From PCs to Just About Everything Electronic
Although malware gained much of its initial footing by infecting computers like PCs, today virtually anything
with a microprocessor is at risk. Researchers have demonstrated how malware can infect hundreds of new
targets, including wearables (like watches and Fitbits), light bulbs, automobiles, water supply systems, and
even airliners.
Moving from research and theory to reality, cybercriminals have already successfully deployed malware that
compromised everything from simple devices to complex industrial complexes, including mobile
phones, ATM machines, security cameras, TVs, e-cigarettes, vending machines, and nuclear plants. This
list is of course, just a small representation of actual malware infections.
History of Malware — Is This Just the Beginning?
Most wars involve a specific set of countries and have a defined beginning and end. Regrettably, the war with
malware impacts everyone across the globe and has no end in sight.  According to CNBC, cyberattacks are the
fastest growing crime in the United States (and it’s easy to speculate, the fastest growing crime in the rest of the
world as well).
While the cybersecurity industry is feverishly working to control malware—and succeeding in many ways,
cybercriminals show no signs of defeat, or even of slowing down. When cybercriminals are thwarted in one
area, they quickly develop new tactics and attack in another.  As a precursor to what may happen in the near
future, see Malware Attack Vectors: What to Expect in 2018.

In all probability, most of the history of malware lies in front of us, not behind us. We can expect to see
cybercrime continue to cause unprecedented damage to both private and public enterprises.

Fortunately, those organizations that diligently deploy the latest anti-malware solutions stand a good chance of
avoiding much of the damage that malware will no doubt inflict on the masses.

2. What is Malware?
Malware, or malicious software, is any program or file that is harmful to a computer user. Types
of malware can include computer viruses, worms, Trojan horses and spyware. These malicious programs
can perform a variety of functions such as stealing, encrypting or deleting sensitive data, altering
or hijacking core computing functions and monitoring users' computer activity.
3. What do Malware do?
Malware can infect networks and devices and is designed to harm those devices, networks and/or
their users in some way. Depending on the type of malware, this harm can take many forms and may
present itself differently to the user. In some cases, the effect malware has is relatively mild and benign,
and in others, it can be disastrous. No matter the method, all types of malware are designed to exploit
devices at the expense of the user and to the benefit of the hacker -- the person who has designed and/or
deployed the malware.
4. How do malware infections happen?
Malware authors use a variety of physical and virtual means to spread malware that infects
devices and networks. For example, malicious programs can be delivered to a system with a USB drive
or can spread over the internet through drive-by downloads, which automatically download malicious
 programs to systems without the user's approval or knowledge. Phishing attacks are another common
type of malware delivery where emails disguised as legitimate messages contain malicious links or
attachments that can deliver the malware executable file to unsuspecting users. Sophisticated malware
attacks often feature the use of a command-and-control server that enables threat actors to communicate
with the infected systems, exfiltrate sensitive data and even remotely control the compromised device or
server.
Emerging strains of malware include new evasion and obfuscation techniques that are designed to not
only fool users but security administrators and antimalware products as well. Some of these evasion
techniques rely on simple tactics, such as using web proxies to hide malicious traffic or source IP
addresses. More sophisticated threats include polymorphic malware that can repeatedly change its
underlying code to avoid detection from signature-based detection tools; anti-sandbox techniques that
enable the malware to detect when it is being analyzed and to delay execution until after it leaves the
sandbox; and fileless malware that resides only in the system's RAM to avoid being discovered.
5.  Common types of Malware

Different types of malware contain unique traits and characteristics. Types of malware include:

 A virus is the most common type of malware that can execute itself and spread by infecting other
programs or files.

 A worm can self-replicate without a host program and typically spreads without any human
interaction or directives from the malware authors.

 A Trojan horse is designed to appear as a legitimate software program to gain access to a system.
Once activated following installation, Trojans can execute their malicious functions.

 Spyware is made to collect information and data on the device and user, as well as observe the user's
activity without their knowledge.

 Ransomware is designed to infect a user's system and encrypt its data. Cybercriminals then demand
a ransom payment from the victim in exchange for decrypting the system's data.

 A rootkit is created to obtain administrator-level access to the victim's system. Once installed, the
program gives threat actors root or privileged access to the system.

 A backdoor virus or remote access Trojan (RAT) secretly creates a backdoor into an infected
computer system that enables threat actors to remotely access it without alerting the user or the
system's security programs.
  Adware is used to track a user's browser and download history with the intent to display pop-up or
banner advertisements that lure the user into making a purchase. For example, an advertiser might
use cookies to track the webpages a user visits to better target advertising.

 Keyloggers, also called system monitors, are used to track nearly everything a user does on their
computer. This includes emails, opened webpages, programs and keystrokes.

Illustration of types of Malware.

6. How to detect malware.

A user may be able to detect malware if they observe unusual activity such as a sudden loss of
disc space, unusually slow speeds, repeated crashes or freezes, or an increase in unwanted internet
activity and pop-up advertisements. Antivirus software may also be installed on the device to detect and
remove malware. These tools can provide real-time protection or detect and remove malware by
executing routine system scans.
Windows Defender, for example, is Microsoft anti-malware software included in the Windows 10
operating system (OS) under the Windows Defender Security Center. Windows Defender protects
against threats such as spyware, adware and viruses. Users can set automatic "Quick" and "Full" scans,
as well as set low, medium, high and severe priority alerts.
7. Malware Response Plan.
Here are the 6 basic steps in mind when creating your malware response plan.
  Identify – Identify which endpoints have been impacted by the attack.
 Communicate – Once the impact of the attack and the point of entry have been identified,
communicate your finding to necessary parties ASAP.
 Block – If possible, block any further access from the origin of the malware, such as the
originating website, email or IP address.
 Restore – Put affected data back in a known-good state where there is no chance of malware
remaining. This can be done with reimaging, rebuilding or a combination of the two.
 Recover – Recover as much affected data as you can using available backups. This is particularly
applicable to ransomware attacks.
 Re-examine – Sit back and take a hard look at your current security strategy and what allowed
the malware to get through in the first place. By analyzing and sealing these gaps, you protect
your organization from a similar attack in the future.

Illustration of Malware response plan.

8.  How to remove malware.

As mentioned, many security software products are designed to both detect and prevent malware,
as well as remove it from infected systems.
 Malwarebytes is an example of an antimalware tool that handles both detection and removal of malware.
It can remove malware from Windows, macOS, Android and iOS platforms. Malwarebytes can scan a
user's registry files, running programs, hard drives and individual files. If detected, malware can then be
quarantined and deleted. However, unlike some other tools, users cannot set automatic scanning
schedules.
9. How to prevent malware infections.

There are several ways users can prevent malware. In the case of protecting a personal computer, users can
install antimalware software. Beyond that, users can prevent malware by practicing safe behavior on their
computer or other personal devices. This includes not opening attachments from strange email addresses that
may contain malware disguised as a legitimate attachment -- such emails may even claim to be from legitimate
companies but have unofficial email domains. Users should also update their antimalware software regularly, as
hackers are always adapting and developing new techniques to breach security software. Security software
vendors respond by releasing updates that patch those vulnerabilities. If a user neglects to update their software,
they may miss out on a patch that leaves them vulnerable to a preventable exploit.

In enterprise settings, networks are larger than home networks, and there is more at stake financially. There are
proactive steps companies should take to enforce malware protection. Outward-facing precautions include:

 Implementing dual approval for business-to-business (B2B) transactions.

 Implementing second-channel verification for business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions.

Business facing, internal precautions include:

 Implementing offline malware and threat detection to catch malicious software before it spreads.

 Implementing allowlist security policies whenever possible.

 Implementing robust web browser-level security.

10. Does malware affect Mac devices?

Malware can affect Mac devices as well as Windows devices. Windows devices are considered
by some to be a larger target for malware than Macs, in part because applications for Apple devices can
only be downloaded through the heavily vetted App Store. For this reason, jailbroken Apple devices are
more vulnerable to malware and other cyberattacks than normal Macs.
The company Malwarebytes reported in 2020 that for the first time ever, malware on Macs is outpacing
malware on PCs. This is in part due to the popularity of Apple devices, drawing more attention from
hackers.
11.  Does malware affect mobile devices?
Malware can also be found on mobile phones and can provide access to a device's components
such as the camera, microphone, GPS or accelerometer. Malware can be contracted on a mobile device
if a user downloads an unofficial application or clicks on a malicious link from an email or text message.
A mobile device can also be infected through a Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connection.
Malware is found much more commonly on devices that run the Android OS compared to iOS devices.
Malware on Android devices is usually downloaded through applications. Signs that an Android device
is infected with malware include unusual increases in data usage, a quickly dissipating battery charge or
calls, texts and emails being sent to the device contacts without the user's initial knowledge. Similarly, if
a user receives a message from a recognized contact that seems suspicious, it may be from a type of
mobile malware that spreads between devices.
Apple iOS devices are rarely infected with malware because Apple carefully vets the applications sold
in the App Store. However, it is still possible for an iOS device to be infected with malicious code by
opening an unknown link found in an email or text message. iOS devices will become more vulnerable
if jailbroken.