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Malware Descriptions
Here are some descriptions and the differences.
• Malware – This is a general term which can be any type of virus or malicious software. Any program whose purpose is harmful in any way is a malware program.
• Virus – A virus is malicious code that can spread to new disks or programs
• Spyware – Spyware can monitor your computer tasks and steal your passwords and other information.
• Adware – Adware pops up unwanted advertisements sometimes targeting your interests by using information stolen by a spyware program
• Dropper – Some malicious programs can be tiny programs specifically designed to funnel a stream of other malware into your computer .
• Bots – A bot doesn’t usually harm your computer, but makes your computer a robot to harm others by sending malicious programs or spam to your email address list.
• Ransomware – Holds your computer or data ransom and demands payment before they will release it. Of course, there is no guarantee that paying the money will get your data back since they are unscrupulous to begin with.
• Scareware – Some free so-called Anti-Virus programs you may download from the internet may actually be a rogue virus that will look and act like a real program and show a myriad of problems on your computer, but in the end will try to scare you into buying their “full version”. Some of these will run when your computer starts and don’t offer a way to close them.
• Junkware – These are programs that we see over and over again in the shop. They may not actually be malicious, but they are programed to start every time you turn on your computer and usually are not anything you want running. A lot of Anti-Virus programs will not catch these because they are not considered a virus. The majority of these programs can come packaged with other useful free programs from the internet.
All computers are susceptible to malware, and we all have to understand that no anti-virus software can protect us from all the threats on the internet. We, as computer users, have to take full responsibility and get smart about how we interact with the internet to avoid viruses.