A Trojan is a destructive program that poses as a harmless application. Unlike viruses, Trojans do no replicate themselves and do not need a host program to attach to.

Today’s computer users often accept Trojan horses onto their computers, believing that the program is harmless or even helpful. Some Trojans will claim to rid the computer of viruses or other harmful applications, but instead introduce viruses and leave it vulnerable to attacks by hackers and intruders.

You can minimise your chances of unintentionally downloading Trojans by:

• Not opening emails or accepting attachments from unknown sources.
• Installing software from trusted sources only.
• Not clicking on links contained within emails of unknown sources.
• Regularly scanning your computer for Trojans and other malicious programs with up-to-date anti-virus software.
• Using a firewall to monitor traffic to and from your computer while connected to the Internet.
• Downloading and installing security patches for your operating system as soon as it is available.