BO2K and Trojan Horse viruses

By Andy Walker

A Trojan horse is a kind of virus that masquerades as a harmless program. Trojan horses do not copy themselves, as normal viruses do, but they can be equally destructive.

Probably the worst kind of Trojan horse virus is a program that says it has cleaned your computer of viruses, but instead has actually infected your computer with one.

The term “Trojan horse”, as is the case with many computer terms, comes from Homer’s Iliad . In the story, the Greeks give a giant wooden horse to their enemies, the Trojans, as a peace offering. The Trojans drag the horse into their walled city but, once inside, Greek soldiers, who are hiding in the horse’s hollow belly, emerge and open the city gates. The Greek army then pours in and takes Troy by force.

• Cyberwalker explains the Back Orifice 2000 virus.


• BO2K links page

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For a complete updated list of viruses and trojans, you can do a search at the Symantec Trojan List.

To do a search for a virus or trojan that you know by name, use the Symantec Virus Search to find it.

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Software That Will Detect Trojan Horses:

• F-PROT Anti-Virus Toolkit
• InoculateIT
• McAfee VirusScan Plus
• Norton Anti-Virus

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Additional Virus Information

• Cyberwalker explains Back Orifice Trojan horse explained
• Cyberwalker’s Computer Security
• F-Secure’s BO2K 2000
• Symantec’s Security Response

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