A Trojan horse succeeds through:

A Trojan horse is a type of malicious software that disguises itself as a legitimate application in order to trick users into executing it. This method relies heavily on deceptive access. Essentially, a Trojan horse presents itself as a benign or useful program, often mimicking something that users might trust or find appealing. Once activated, it can perform harmful actions without the user's knowledge.

Deceptive access is fundamental to the success of a Trojan horse, as it bypasses traditional security measures by exploiting the user's lack of awareness. Users are often unaware of the potential risks when downloading or running what appears to be a harmless application, which allows the Trojan to gain access to the system and execute its payload. This psychological manipulation is pivotal for the effectiveness of Trojans, making their success more about deceiving the user than about overcoming technical defenses directly.

Other options, such as brute force attacks, social engineering, and phishing attempts, involve different tactics or methods of attack that do not specifically align with the deceptive nature of a Trojan horse. For instance, brute force attacks involve repeatedly guessing passwords or encryption keys, social engineering is a broader term that includes various manipulative tactics to gain confidential information, and phishing typically involves tricking individuals into disclosing personal information through deceptive emails or messages