# Malware and ransomware

> Software built to harm you; ransomware locks your files and charges to unlock them.

- Level: Basic
- Topics: Security
- URL: https://tidbit.legios.com.ar/malware-and-ransomware/
- In Spanish: [Malware y ransomware](https://tidbit.legios.com.ar/es/malware-and-ransomware/)

**Malware** is the umbrella word for software written to do damage: **viruses** that copy themselves, **trojans** that hide inside a program you wanted (a cracked game, a fake PDF reader), **spyware** that records what you type, and bots that quietly turn your computer into a soldier for someone else's attack. It arrives through phishing attachments, downloads from shady sites, infected USB sticks, or by exploiting a Vulnerability in software you never updated.

**Ransomware** is the kind that makes the news. It uses encryption against you: it scrambles your documents, photos and databases with a key only the attacker has, then leaves a note asking for payment, usually in cryptocurrency, to get the key. Modern gangs also copy the data first and threaten to publish it, so a backup alone does not end the blackmail.

Why it matters: in 2017 WannaCry spread through unpatched Windows machines and shut down hospitals in the UK; in 2021 Colonial Pipeline paused fuel delivery on the US east coast after an attack. Hospitals, city governments, schools and small businesses are the typical victims, not because they are special, but because they run old software and have no second copy of their data.

Practical takeaway: keep the operating system and browser on automatic updates, keep a backup that is not permanently connected to the computer (a cloud backup with version history counts), and do not install programs from outside the official stores or the maker's site. Paying is a last resort: it funds the next attack and the key does not always arrive.

## An analogy

A burglar who does not steal your photo albums. Instead, they change the lock on the cabinet that holds them and offer to sell you the new key.

## Keep in mind

- Malware is any software made to harm; ransomware is the kind that locks your files for money.
- It usually enters through an attachment, a dubious download or software that was never updated.
- Updates and an offline or versioned backup defuse most of the damage.
- Paying the ransom does not guarantee the key and funds the next attack.

## Go deeper

- [What is ransomware? (Cloudflare Learning Center)](https://www.cloudflare.com/learning/security/ransomware/what-is-ransomware/)
- [Malware on Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malware)
- [Ransomware on Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ransomware)

## Related terms

- [Phishing](https://tidbit.legios.com.ar/phishing/): A fake message that tricks you into handing over a password or a payment.
- [USB](https://tidbit.legios.com.ar/usb/): The standard plug for connecting and charging almost everything.
- [Vulnerability and CVE](https://tidbit.legios.com.ar/vulnerability-and-cve/): A flaw that lets an attacker misuse software, and the public id that names it.
- [Encryption](https://tidbit.legios.com.ar/encryption/): Scrambling data so that only someone with the key can read it.
- [Database](https://tidbit.legios.com.ar/database/): An organized store of data that programs can search and update safely.
- [Backup](https://tidbit.legios.com.ar/backup/): A separate copy of your data, kept so you can get it back when the original is lost.
- [Operating system](https://tidbit.legios.com.ar/operating-system/): The base software that runs a device and lets every app share its hardware.
- [Web browser](https://tidbit.legios.com.ar/web-browser/): The app that fetches web pages from the internet and draws them on your screen.