Some cyber attacks infect the computer locally. For local attacks, we can distinguish between attacks that exploit software weaknesses and attacks that exploit malicious software to cause damage.

Attacks that exploit software weaknesses

There are various attacks that exploit software weaknesses. Among the most important are the following.

Exploit: by exploiting a software bug, the attacker manages to make the target under attack execute the code of a program, in order to damage information, compromise its confidentiality or acquire administrator privileges

Shell code: is an attack that uses an exploit to execute an operating system shell on the target machine

Buffer overflow (also similar are stackoverflow, heapoverflow): is an attack that, by saturating an area of the RAM, overwrites adjacent memory, compromising the correct functioning of the program or the entire system. They are typically due to inadequate input management by the program, which accepts quantities of input data that exceed the memory dedicated to the process.

Cracking: This involves modifying software with the aim of removing a program's protection code or accessing protected areas of the system.

Attacks conducted using malicious software

Most attacks conducted using malicious software can be prevented by using antivirus software with up-to-date signatures. The most well-known antivirus software vendors are McAfee and Norton.

There are various attacks conducted using malicious software. Among the most important are the following:

Malware: is software that operates with the intention of violating the protection of information on a computer to delete or steal it.

Trojan Horse: is software that is unknowingly executed by the user, causing the opening of a TCP port that is exploited by the attacker to access the machine.

Viruses: are software that damage data on the computer. They are activated by attaching themselves to non-malicious programs and are executed whenever the "infected" program is infected. is executed.

Worms: Similar to viruses, except they don't need to attach themselves to existing programs to reproduce.

Spyware: Software that sends information from your computer to external, unauthorized recipients.