Malware and Viruses: What they do and how to prevent them

February 5, 2012 – An ever expanding, business-focussed Internet has brought with it an increased spread of malware and viruses. There’s no doubt that malicious programs are a pest, but their main target is your money. There are fundamental differences between malware and viruses, and for the sake of your computer’s speed and security, you should know how to tell them apart.

We know that a virus infects computers, but what exactly is a virus? A virus is a program that is placed on your computer, often without your consent, that has a front-end, typically a single window that claims to be a helpful tool that was always present on your computer. There are even viruses that pose as firewalls and anti-virus programs before persuading you to buy the full version. Paying for these sham programs puts money straight into the pockets of the virus makers. Getting rid of a virus can be problematic if you don’t know how your operating system works. The Internet has countless available anti-virus programs that are able to detect and delete infected files from your computer. Computer stores will often remove viruses for you as well.

MALicious SoftWARE (malware) is not a virus, and includes Trojans, worms, and spyware, whose purpose is to collect personal information without your consent. One of the noticeable indicators of the presence of malicious code is exceptionally slow loading in your Internet browser. In fact, malware slows down your whole computer while it runs in the background.

The process that malware uses to acquire money is not the same as it is for a virus. Although you do not pay the creators, the programs collect data on your actions, giving the creators information on advertising that may be successful in your browser, often opening new “Pop up” windows with products. A rare possibility is a malware that can track what you type and then use the information to obtain personal information, such as passwords and banking information. Malware is eradicated similarly to viruses by anti-virus programs that you can acquire online. Malware is more likely to invade your computer than a virus and can run for a long time in the background without you noticing; however, it is easy to remove and seldom requires the advanced virus removal techniques of an expert.

Virus and malware prevention is essential for a computer hooked up to the Internet. Anti-malware and Anti-virus programs are available at computer stores, and monitor your computer, alerting you when it detects an infection and promptly deleting said infection. It is also essential that the operating system’s firewall is on. Firewalls stop threats, malicious code and other infections from accessing computers. Firewalls are not absolutely watertight, but they are the best protection you can have against malware and viruses.

 

 

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