Remote Access Trojans

The computer age has brought humanity many luxuries and functions that were not available a few decades ago. However, it has also brought many threats that were not even thought of before computers became popular. Malware, spyware, trojans, and worms are sitting behind every cyber corner and behind each of them is a hacker, cracker, or Internet thief who wishes to do computer users harm. Such is the case with remote access trojans. This article will explain what remote access trojans are, how to remove them, how to defend against them, and will list a number of antivirus programs that can automatically detect and remove remote access trojans before they can do any harm to the computer or its user.

What are Remote Access Trojans
Remote Access Trojans, or RATs, are malicious programs that mimick other software in order to gain entry to a user’s computer without the user knowing that the program is there. Once inside the user’s computer, RATs are able to observe what the user is doing, control the user’s computer, and even collect personal information such as passwords, account numbers, and even financial information such as credit card numbers and social security numbers. RATs can be fully controlled by a remote user or can be left to carry out a particular task all on its own. In most cases, users are completely unaware that the RAT is on their computer until it is too late.

How To Remove Remote Access Trojans
RATs are some of the most dangerous malicious programs that exist because they present a threat to the computer user that exceeds the computer itself. Because of this, they must be removed immediately when found so that further damage can not be done to the user or his/her computer. RATs can be removed in the same fashion that any other malicious program or virus can be. All it takes to remove a RAT is a proper antivirus software that is able to detect and remove the infectious software. Such antivirus software can be found at the end of this article.

How To Defend Against Remote Access Trojans
Defense against RATs goes beyond simple reliance on an antivirus software. Users are likely to notice a RAT if the malicious software is controlling some aspect of the user’s computer. For example, if the user notices that his/her computer’s CD drive keeps opening and closing by itself, a program will not respond properly, or if the screen is doing something that is out of the ordinary, a RAT infection is likely. When the user notices such events, the Internet should be manually disconnected and a full antivirus scan should be performed immediately.

Antivirus Software
Antivirus software allows users to scan their computer in order to find infectious and/or malicious software. Once found, a proper antivirus software should be able to neutralize the threat and completely remove it from the computer immediately. Users should, of course, not wait until a threat is present before they run an antivirus scan. Instead, a scan should be performed regularly in order to maintain system security and overall maximum performance. The following are some examples of antivirus software.

Spyware Terminator
Spyware Terminator is a free antivirus software that is able to perform thorough scans of the user’s computer in order to locate malicious software. The program includes a real-time shield, a browser security function, and regular automatic scans if the user wishes.

Malware Bytes
Malware Bytes is another free antivirus software that is able to scan for and remove malicious software. Malware Bytes is known for removing some of the worst viruses and other computer threats that are known to the antivirus community. The software can automatically update itself with the latest security threats and can remove them in a matter of moments if need be.