What does the expression 'a Trojan horse' mean?

Answer 1

The Trojan Horse was a giant wooden horse which was said to be a gift, but really had enemy soldiers in it. To say something is a "Trojan Horse" would be saying it is not what it seems; it appears harmless or good, but is will eventually prove to be bad. A deception.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

The term comes from the a Greek story of the Trojan War, in which the Greeks give a giant wooden horse to their foes, the Trojans, ostensibly as a peace offering. But after the Trojans drag the horse inside their city walls, Greek soldiers sneak out of the horse's hollow belly and open the city gates, allowing their compatriots to pour in and capture Troy.

Answer 4

Trojan horse
Last modified: Friday, August 18, 2006

A destructive program that masquerades as a benign application. Unlike viruses, Trojan horses do not replicate themselves but they can be just as destructive. One of the most insidious types of Trojan horse is a program that claims to rid your computer of viruses but instead introduces viruses onto your computer.

The term comes from the a Greek story of the Trojan War, in which the Greeks give a giant wooden horse to their foes, the Trojans, ostensibly as a peace offering. But after the Trojans drag the horse inside their city walls, Greek soldiers sneak out of the horse's hollow belly and open the city gates, allowing their compatriots to pour in and capture Troy.

Trojan horses are broken down in classification based on how they breach systems and the damage they cause. The seven main types of Trojan horses are:

* Remote Access Trojans
* Data Sending Trojans
* Destructive Trojans
* Proxy Trojans
* FTP Trojans
* security software disabler Trojans
* denial-of-service attack (DoS) Trojans

Also see The Difference Between a Virus, Worm and Trojan Horse in the Did You Know? section of Webopedia.

This originates from the original Trojan horse whereby the Trojans made a great horse that was empty inside which they left outside the city of Troy where Helen had been abducted to. She was just an excuse to some degree for attacking the city. The horse was taken inside and seen as a great present. Inside were hidden a great many soldiers who opened the gates etc. and let in the forces which could not penetrate the walls of the city such that they won the war.
A Trojan horse is like HIV it hides inside the White blood cells of the body such that it can attack the rest of the body and it is not killed off. It is something disguised as something it is not such that it is accepted when it is often deadly. HIV and malaria are Trojan horses
The Trojan Horse

Still seeking to gain entrance into Troy, clever Odysseus (some say with the aid of Athena) ordered a large wooden horse to be built. Its insides were to be hollow so that soldiers could hide within it.

Once the statue had been built by the artist Epeius, a number of the Greek warriors, along with Odysseus, climbed inside. The rest of the Greek fleet sailed away, so as to deceive the Trojans.

One man, Sinon, was left behind. When the Trojans came to marvel at the huge creation, Sinon pretended to be angry with the Greeks, stating that they had deserted him. He assured the Trojans that the wooden horse was safe and would bring luck to the Trojans.

Only two people, Laocoon and Cassandra, spoke out against the horse, but they were ignored. The Trojans celebrated what they thought was their victory, and dragged the wooden horse into Troy.

That night, after most of Troy was asleep or in a drunken stupor, Sinon let the Greek warriors out from the horse, and they slaughtered the Trojans. Priam was killed as he huddled by Zeus' altar and Cassandra was pulled from the statue of Athena and raped.

Answer 5

There're several definitions for this expression, one of which refers to a malicious program that actually conceals illegitimate programmes within.
Therefore when you, the user download/ open an unsolicited e-mail, you unwittingly unleash the "Trojan Horse" that allows it to "steal" private information found on your computer.
The other being extracted from the infamous myth based on Homer's "Iliad". A seemingly harmless wooden horse turns out to be very deadly instead.
In conclusion, it basically states that NOT everything is what it seems.
Hope this helped =)

Answer 6

It means that it is something that looks good, but actually has bad things associated with it. The Trojan Horse was a gift statue, but actually it had soldiers inside of it to destroy the town.

Answer 7

Its something which doesnt show its true meaning on the first look.

Like the 'Trojan horse' in "Iliad" that Trojans thought to be a gift but hide a cohort of enemy Greek soldiers.
:)

Answer 8

Something that penetrates security defenses disguised as friendly

Answer 9

it means A Virus

Answer 10

A 'Hidden Agenda' maybe?