What Is Malware

What Is Malware?

Malware is a general term used by computer users and technicians to describe software created with a malicious intent. The term is typically used when referring to any software that acts without the users consent, though it can apply to software executed willingly in cases of social engineering. It can include spyware, adware, virus's, trojans, rootkits and joke programs, but is not limited to these classifications. Software which accidently causes harm to a computer is not considered malware, but merely faulty software. The term malware is now widely recognized and has even made its way into several states law books.

What is a virus?
A virus is a computer program that can copy itself and spread throughout a computer. It may spread itself to other computers if an infected program is transferred to another computer and the infected program is executed. A virus can be spread via most all psychical types of media including USB flash drives, CD's, floppy disks and SD cards. A virus's chances of infecting new computers increases if it is able to infect data on networked drives shared by others. Not all virus's are created with a malicious intent but even those which only replicate may cause serious damage to the data on a computer system.

What is a worm?
A worm is a computer program with the ability to self replicate and spread itself over a network to other computer systems. Unlike a virus, computer worms do not need to infect a host program. They spread themselves and infect other machines without a user’s knowledge by exploiting flaws in software and operating systems. Worms will almost always cause damage to a network, even worms written with a good intent.

What is spyware?
Spyware is a type of program designed to collect information from a computer without the users knowledge. It is typically well hidden and can be very difficult to detect. Normally spyware is installed bundled with other software but some notorious spyware programs can infect your computer using computer worms or through Internet Browser vulnerabilities. Spyware is also used by IT departments in some companies to secretly spy on their employees computer usage habits.

What is adware?
Adware is any type of program that automatically displays advertisements to a computer system after it has been installed or while another program is being used. Most adware is also spyware and is installed using software vulnerabilities with the help of computer worms.

What is a trojan?
A trojan or trojan horse is a program designed to allow an unauthorized user access to a computer system while posing as a legitimate program. They typically grant users remote access to the system over an internet connection and are used for malicious tasks such as infecting other computers or stealing private data. Trojans are almost always accompanied by some sort of spyware and many malicious users will try to hide them with rootkits.

What is a rootkit?
A rootkit is a program or hardware device designed to obtain administrative access to a computer system. They are normally used along with trojan horses and can be extremely sophisticated. Most rootkits are able to hide themselves from detection software and a large percentage of computer professionals. It’s difficult to insure %100 removal and a typical response to their detection is to wipe an entire machine and start from scratch.

A Computer Guy

What Is Malware?