# Section 05: Fileless Malware Concepts ## Fileless Malware Fileless malware > Fileless malware is a variant of computer related malicious software that exists exclusively as a computer memory-based artifact i.e. in RAM. It does not write any part of its activity to the computer's hard drive, thus increasing its ability to evade antivirus software that incorporate file-based whitelisting, signature detection, hardware verification, pattern-analysis, time-stamping, etc., and leaving very little evidence that could be used by digital forensic investigators to identify illegitimate activity. Living off the land > Living off the land refers to the use of dual-use tools, which are either already installed in the victims' environment, or are admin, forensic or system tools used maliciously. Links *