Computer Virus is a very popular term among phone/computer users - Atleast popular enough for the average device user. Because of it’s popularity and fame, To most people, Computer Virus tends to be the only harmful software in a device - While some thinks virus, malware, trojan horse, spyware etc. all mean and do the same thing. But in reality, they are wrong - Virus is not the only harmful software on your device, Infact:
Malware: General term for all harmful software
Malware which is derived from two words ‘Malicious’ and ‘Software’ is any program or piece of code written or designed with the primary aim of harming or creating havoc. Examples of Malware includes: virus, spyware, trojan horse, worm, adware, bug, bot, ransomeware and Rootkit. But in this post, we will only be looking virus, spyware, trojan horse, adware and worm.
Virus destroy your information
A Computer Virus is a form of malware that copies itself and infect a PC(personal system), from one file to another file and from one PC to another PC when the file is shared or copied. Most computer virus usually attach them self to an executable program which upon execution, it duplicate by taking a copy of itself and merging it with other files and program thus corrupting the program or file. The effect of a Computer virus includes deleting of data/files, files/data corruption, decrease in PC speed.
Adware displays unwanted pop-up ads
People usually mistake adware for virus, but basically adware is a another form of malware unknowingly installed on device(computers and mobile) that display unwanted advertisement to users when connected to the internet. the advert displayed can be in the form of website redirect, annoying pop-up ads, auto clicking of ads link, porn photos and videos. Do not mistake adware for some certified apps that contains adds e.g truecaller and some other free apps in google playstore.
Spyware secretly spy on you
Spyware, just as the name implies, is another form of malware which when installed on a PC, secretly spy and collect information from that PC and send it back to who ever created it. The information may include passwords, credit card credentials, browser history, pc usage etc. This software run continuously in background and it’s not even detectable by task manager. Since spyware wasn’t designed to cause physical harm to your pc, it can be quit hard to tell if you one installed already. In fact many people have spyware installed but they don’t know about it.
Trojan Horse create a secrete door
This is yet another form of malware that looks like it’s actually doing something good but in reality contains codes that create a secrete door to your PC. The secrete door created is used to control your pc , either directly or as part of a botnet—a network of computers also infected with a Trojan or other malicious software. Unlike virus, a Trojan horse does not spread it self but are usually installed by the user. With a Trojan horse installed on your pc, your pc can be used to carry out malicious attack e.g. attacking a website, spamming your email list and other networks attack.
Worm works with computer network
This is also a form of malware that is quite different in-terms of how it spread itself. It replicate without attaching itself to another program, and it rely on computer network for it to spread from one computer to another. The main harm of computer worm is that it causes some high bandwidth which slows down or break the network.
4 ways to prevent Malware
[ul]
[li]Make sure to have an up-to date anti-virus program running continously which regularly scan for malware.[/li][li]Regular update of your operating system.[/li][li]Be cautious of what ever you are downloading.[/li][li]Watch out for malicious link sent to your email address[/li][/ul]
This post is from www.techeda.com…