What method does a Trojan horse use to achieve its goals?

A Trojan horse achieves its goals primarily through deceptive access. This type of malware disguises itself as a legitimate or benign application to trick users into downloading and executing it. By presenting itself in a way that appears trustworthy, a Trojan can bypass initial skepticism from the user, which is critical for its success. Once executed, it can carry out malicious actions without the user’s consent or knowledge.

The effectiveness of this method hinges on the psychological manipulation of users, leading them to believe they are interacting with a safe program while the Trojan operates under the surface for malicious purposes, such as stealing information, installing other malware, or creating backdoors for unauthorized access.

In contrast, direct file manipulation, encryption of user data, and monitoring user behavior might describe actions taken by certain types of malware or security tools but are not the primary methods through which a Trojan horse achieves its objectives. Instead, those actions could be consequences or functions of the Trojan itself acting after it has been successfully deployed through deceptive means.