Scottrade Online Stock Trading
  • Switch to Scottrade
  • Open an Online Trading Account
  • Log In
  • Contact Scottrade

Security Center

Identity Theft Schemes

Trojan Horses

A Trojan horse is a program that installs malicious code that is hidden or harmless until an action, such as clicking a link, is executed. Once this code is launched, the hacker may be able to capture keystrokes to gather passwords or other confidential information. Trojan horses are often spread through email or are embedded in web pages. Attackers often will include Trojan horses with other viruses, spyware, and worms into "free" downloads, such as screensavers.

Ways to Detect Trojan Horses

  • By their nature Trojan Horses are difficult to detect. The best way to tell if your computer is infected is to run a scan of your system with a security software program. We recommend that you take advantage of a complimentary one-year subscription to McAfee VirusScan Plus and Site Advisor to detect and remove these threats.

Ways to Defend Against Trojan Horses

  • Download McAfee VirusScan Plus and Site Advisor. The complete inbound and outbound firewall protection automatically trusts known good applications and helps block Trojans, spyware, and key loggers.
  • Keep your operating system updated. If you use a Windows operating system, enable the automatic windows updates or download Microsoft updates regularly. A computer with an updated operating system behind a firewall is the best defense against Trojan and spyware installation.
  • Download the latest version of your internet browser to ensure that it is also fully updated and utilizes the latest technologies to identify and filter out sites that can install Trojans.
  • Open attachments only from sources you trust.
  • Be careful when engaging in (peer to peer) file sharing. Trojans can sit within file sharing programs waiting to be downloaded.
Get McAfee VirusScan Plus - Free With Your Scottrade Account
Subscribe to our RSS Feeds

Brokerage Products and Services offered by Scottrade, Inc. – Member FINRA and SIPC.

Any specific securities, or types of securities, used as examples are for demonstration purposes only. No information on this web site should be considered a recommendation or solicitation to invest in, or liquidate, a particular security or type of security.

Investors should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of a mutual fund carefully before investing. A mutual fund's prospectus contains this and other information about the mutual fund. Prospectuses are available through our trading site or through a Scottrade branch office. The prospectus should be read carefully before investing. No transaction fee (NTF) funds are subject to the terms and conditions of the NTF funds program. Scottrade is compensated by the funds participating in the NTF program through recordkeeping, shareholder, or SEC 12b-1 fees.

Investors should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses of an Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) carefully before investing. A prospectus contains this and other information about the ETF can be obtained from the issuer. The prospectus should be read carefully before investing.

Margin trading involves interest charges and risks, including the potential to lose more than deposited or the need to deposit additional collateral in a falling market. The Margin Disclosure Statement and Agreement (PDF) is available for download, or it is available at one of our branch offices. It contains information on our lending policies, interest charges, and the risks associated with margin accounts.

Options are not appropriate for all investors. Detailed information on our policies and the risks associated with options can be found in Scottrade's Options Application and Agreement, Brokerage Account Agreement, and Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options (also available at one of our branch offices). All option accounts require prior approval by Scottrade.

Online market and limit equity orders are just $7 for stocks over $1.

Market volatility, volume, and system availability may impact account access and trade execution.

Testimonials may not be representative of the experience of other clients and are no guarantee of future performance or success.