ABSTRACT
One of the more common and signicant forms of cyber crime victimization is the destruction of data les due to malicious so¯ware (malware; Furnell, 2002; Taylor, Caeti, Loper, Fritsch, & Liederbach, 2006). Malware typically includes computer viruses, worms, and Trojan horse programs that alter functions within computer programs and les. Viruses can conceal their presence on computer systems and networks and can spread via e-mail attachments, downloadable les, instant messaging, and other methods (Kapersky, 2003; Szor, 2005; Taylor et al., 2006). Trojan horse programs also o¯en arrive via e-mail as a downloadable le or an attachment that people would be inclined to open, such as les titled “XXX Porn” or “Receipt of Purchase.” When the le is opened, it executes some form of malicious code (Furnell, 2002; Szor, 2005; Taylor et al., 2006). In addition, some malware is activated by visiting websites-particularly, pornographic websites-that exploit ´aws in web browsers (Taylor et al., 2006). Although worms do not involve as much user interaction as other malware because of its ability to use system memory and to send copies of itself, humans can facilitate its spread by simply opening e-mails that have the worm code embedded into the le (Nazario, 2003).
