I have a question about computer viruses?

1) What is spyware?

Forget viruses, spam and hacker attacks..."spyware" is now the single largest problem facing internet users today. These nasty little rogue programs have become so widespread and so infectious, their volume far outstrips spam and regular viruses. The spyware problem has grown to such an immense breadth and depth, we cannot even agree on what to call it.

2) Spyware = "malware"

Most people historically call these rogue programs "spyware". That name comes from the 1990's where nasty little programs secretly observed and logged your web surfing habits. The spyware problem, however, has now grown into dozens of other malicious formats, including sneakware, adware, keyloggers, browser hijackers, porn servers, trojans and worms

Because the spyware problem has mutated so much, we now describe spyware as part of a much larger category of rogue software called "malware" (malicious software programs)
 
Virus: is a software that copies itself inside one computer and can be transferred to many other computers through USB/network etc.
Spyware: is a software/program that collects information from a computer without the user's knowledge, hence the name "spy" as spying the computer.
... Now,
Malware: (or malicious software) is commonly used term for describing programs the interrupts, disrupts, or hurts the computer and "usually" doesn't copy itself. Keep in mind that Malware INCLUDES viruses and spyware programs.
All of these "well... many" can be removed using an updated anti-virus programs. :)
 
Back
Top