subject: Importance Of Anti Malware Software Today [print this page] The demand for Internet security applications has risen dramatically today and one has to say that this comes as little surprise given the amounts of threats that are on the web. Many persons do not realize just how critical these pieces of software are and sometimes one has to direct out the dangers of the likes of viruses, spyware and Trojan horses to get people to use them. We all use the Internet today and whether you download web content, surf websites, use instant messaging or just read emails you are at risk of being attacked by some malicious infection. Another thing to direct out is that lots of people also think that without connection to the web you are secure from infections. This is obviously not true because malware can spread though USB devices, CD's and other removable media that you might insert into your PC.
Malware is a very common term that is used mostly to describe a group of harmful infections and it means " malicious software ". It accumulates many viruses. So what is the conflict between them and how can one battle them?
Spyware is an infection that is able to secretly watch, monitor and retrieve various information about your website surfing activities and more personal information on your PC.This collected data will most usually be sent to advertisers for commercial purposes.
Viruses are file infectors, can replicate themselves, will infect many system files and spread over networks via email or software distribution. They are the most dangerous type of malware because they can wipe out your files, corrupt registry data, reformat a hard drive, modify settings and basically render a system unusable.
Trojan horses are designed to allow people to get remote access to your PC. They will not replicate like a virus but once you are infected and control is gained by the hacker, he/she can control your PC, erase information, corrupt components, steal data and many perform numerous other actions.
Worms can also replicate like the virus but they do less damage. Usually a worm will exploit security vulnerabilities and can do things like utilize up lots of Internet bandwidth. It will often use networks to send many versions of itself to other systems that are connected to the network.
Those are the 4 most common categories of malware that you need to experience about and you can find more in depth definitions of them round the web. Protection of the PC is vital in this context.
