What is threatware?

Threatware is not a common term, so you may think it's a new class of cyber threat. But threatware is an umbrella term including many common security risks.

Threatware can be summarized as anything meant to cause harm via a computer or similar device.

Types of threatware

Threatware can be divided into three main buckets, including:

• Malware such as emotet.

• Spyware.

• Ransomware.

Ransomware is a leading example of threatware.

So threatware includes anything that can fit into the buckets above, such as:

• Keyloggers.

• Worms.

• Trojan horses.

• Rootkits.

• Cryptojacking.

• And much more.

These threats are already on the radar of most businesses and MSPs. So there's no need to change things up as long as you've got the cybersecurity essentials covered.

How does threatware spread?

Because threatware is such a broad term, it can spread in uncountable ways, including:

• Malicious email attachments.

• Phishing emails.

• Websites that install malicious code on web browsers.

How to avoid threatware

You don't need to anything special to protect yourself from threatware specifically.

But this is a great opportunity to remind you of some basic security practices you should be following.

You can better your odds against threatware by:

• Keeping your system up to date by installing software patches when available.

• Using password managers and multi-factor authentication.

• Educating yourself through end user security training so that you know what to avoid.

• Installing next-generation antivirus.

• Using web content filtering to block sites known to install threatware on visitors' devices.