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A Look Into Spyware Vs Malware
The number of computer security threats that are notorious and wild in the computer sector baffles most of the normal user. In the lack of proper information about the kind of threat they are infected with, people are not able to take proper remedial measures. Here is a special spyware vs malware comparison which should assist you in finding out what kind of problem you are facing and how does it create a risk for you. The very first thing that you should know is the package in which a spyware or a malware comes into your PC. Malware generally consists of viruses. It comes as a complete code package which is capable of replicating itself in such a manner that any computer which comes in contact with an infected computer also becomes infected. This may even be through using shared removable storage devices like CDs, DVDs, Floppy disks or pen drives. On the other hand the spyware does not replicate itself. It does not propagate in that manner. In case if it relies on host application, the host applications would need to propagate in order for the spyware to propagate. It can not propagate from one infected computer to infect another computer all by itself. Second thing is the primary target of malware vs spyware is different. In case of a spyware, the main of such a threat is to steal your data, especially the information that is sensitive in nature. This means it would not cause any intentional damage to your data. On the other had, malware primarily aims to destroy the data stored on your computer. The virus would infect the files on your computer and corrupt the data on your computer. So while one aims to steal your data, other aims to destroy it outright. The third thing is that recognition of malware and spyware is done using different symptoms. In case of spyware you would experience that the speed with which you connect to the internet goes down. This is because the spyware phones home and sends the data that it stole from your computer to the person who installed the spyware on your computer. Other than this you would also see that a number of pop up advertisements are displayed on your computer.The symptoms of being infected by malware are different. Here the major symptoms would be that your programs would stop working by themselves Similarly the files that are stored on your computer would become unusable. The computer’s performance would also be degraded seriously.Proper information about spyware vs malware is necessary because you would not want to be in a condition where you are trying to isolate one problem while you are actually suffering from another problem.
Computing's Dirty Dozen: Malware (Page 1 of 2)
It seems that no sooner do you feel safe turning on your computer than you hear on the news about a new kind of internet security threat. Usually, the security threat is some kind of malware (though the term “security threat” no doubt sells more newspapers).
What is malware? Malware is exactly what its name implies: mal (meaning bad, in the sense of malignant or malicious rather than just poorly done) ware (short for software). More specifically, malware is software that does not benefit the computer’s owner, and may even harm it, and so is purely parasitic.
The Many Faces of Malware
According to Wikipedia, there are in fact eleven distinct types of malware, and even more sub-types of each.
1. Viruses. The malware that’s on the news so much, even your grandmother knows what it is. You probably already have heard plenty about why this kind of software is bad for you, so there’s no need to belabor the point.
2. Worms. Slight variation on viruses. The difference between viruses and worms is that viruses hide inside the files of real computer programs (for instance, the macros in Word or the VBScript in many other Microsoft applications), while worms do not infect a file or program, but rather stand on their own.
3. Wabbits.Be honest: had you ever even heard of wabbits before (outside of Warner Bros. cartoons)? According to Wikipedia, wabbits are in fact rare, and it’s not hard to see why: they don’t do anything to spread to other machines. A wabbit, like a virus, replicates itself, but it does not have any instructions to email itself or pass itself through a computer network in order to infect other machines. The least ambitious of all malware, it is content simply to focus on utterly devastating a single machine.
4. Trojans. Arguably the most dangerous kind of malware, at least from a social standpoint. While Trojans rarely destroy computers or even files, that’s only because they have bigger targets: your financial information, your computer’s system resources, and sometimes even massive denial-of-service attacks launched by having thousands of computers all try to connect to a web server at the same time. Trojans can even
5. Spyware. In another instance of creative software naming, spyware is software that spies on you, often tracking your internet activities in order to serve you advertising. (Yes, it’s possible to be both adware and spyware at the same time.)
6. Backdoors. Backdoors are much the same as Trojans or worms, except that they do something different: they open a “backdoor” onto a computer, providing a network connection for hackers or other malware to enter or for viruses or spam to be sent out through.
7. Exploits. Exploits attack specific security vulnerabilities. You know how Microsoft is always announcing new updates for its operating system? Often enough the updates are really trying to close the security hole targeted in a newly discovered exploit.
Computing's Dirty Dozen: Malware (Page 1 of 2)
It seems that no sooner do you feel safe turning on your computer than you hear on the news about a new kind of internet security threat. Usually, the security threat is some kind of malware (though the term “security threat” no doubt sells more newspapers).
What is malware? Malware is exactly what its name implies: mal (meaning bad, in the sense of malignant or malicious rather than just poorly done) ware (short for software). More specifically, malware is software that does not benefit the computer’s owner, and may even harm it, and so is purely parasitic.
The Many Faces of Malware
According to Wikipedia, there are in fact eleven distinct types of malware, and even more sub-types of each.
1. Viruses. The malware that’s on the news so much, even your grandmother knows what it is. You probably already have heard plenty about why this kind of software is bad for you, so there’s no need to belabor the point.
2. Worms. Slight variation on viruses. The difference between viruses and worms is that viruses hide inside the files of real computer programs (for instance, the macros in Word or the VBScript in many other Microsoft applications), while worms do not infect a file or program, but rather stand on their own.
3. Wabbits.Be honest: had you ever even heard of wabbits before (outside of Warner Bros. cartoons)? According to Wikipedia, wabbits are in fact rare, and it’s not hard to see why: they don’t do anything to spread to other machines. A wabbit, like a virus, replicates itself, but it does not have any instructions to email itself or pass itself through a computer network in order to infect other machines. The least ambitious of all malware, it is content simply to focus on utterly devastating a single machine.
4. Trojans. Arguably the most dangerous kind of malware, at least from a social standpoint. While Trojans rarely destroy computers or even files, that’s only because they have bigger targets: your financial information, your computer’s system resources, and sometimes even massive denial-of-service attacks launched by having thousands of computers all try to connect to a web server at the same time. Trojans can even
5. Spyware. In another instance of creative software naming, spyware is software that spies on you, often tracking your internet activities in order to serve you advertising. (Yes, it’s possible to be both adware and spyware at the same time.)
6. Backdoors. Backdoors are much the same as Trojans or worms, except that they do something different: they open a “backdoor” onto a computer, providing a network connection for hackers or other malware to enter or for viruses or spam to be sent out through.
7. Exploits. Exploits attack specific security vulnerabilities. You know how Microsoft is always announcing new updates for its operating system? Often enough the updates are really trying to close the security hole targeted in a newly discovered exploit.