Types of PC Infections   by Thomas Wilson

in Computers / Malware    (submitted 2011-04-19)

In the present day, the term “pc virus” is said a lot, although in many instances erroneously. If you would like to be able to defend your computer from them, it is really important that you be aware of exactly what they are and also what they do. It is additionally vital to recognize if you have malware, adware, spyware, or another type of system infection on your computer. After you know those things you can begin to understand how to get rid of viruses. Below you will find a list of the most commonly seen kinds of infections along with a simple description:

Malware: Short for malicious software, malware is a computer software program created to be able to secretly gain access to your PC. Malware is a broad term and contains viruses, worms, trojan horses, spyware, adware, scareware, crimeware, plus other undesirable applications.

Viruses: In short, a PC virus is a application that can reproduce itself and infect a PC. The most basic ways to receive viruses include things like opening them in seemingly ordinary email attachments, by CD, or thumb-drive. Though many PC viruses can just simply be annoying, others may end up being incredibly harmful, deleting computer data, crashing your PC, and/or emailing itself to all your contacts, just to name a few.

Worms: Worms are generally comparable to viruses with the exception that they copy and spread much easier and quicker simply because they will need less (if any) human action to spread. They normally spread using the web rather than like a virus which mainly spreads via e-mail.

Wabbits: No, I am not talking about the Warner Bros. cartoon. Computer wabbits are a uncommon type of malware, and frequently the least ambitious. Unlike the majority of malware however, wabbits do not spread from computer to computer, but totally focus on doing damage to a single PC.

Spyware: The primary difference between viruses and spyware is how you get it. You receive spyware from downloading free applications which in addition contain spyware. Like the name suggests, spyware monitors your every activity on your PC and may access your private information, browsing history, and surfing habits. Spyware is additionally known to alter computer configurations that can result in different home pages, slower connection speeds, and loss of internet connection. Spyware does not replicate and spread itself like viruses do.

Trojan Horses: Named after the Greek fable, trojans are usually very similar to spyware, where the user downloads and installs the application unintentionally while they install a useful application. A trojan horse, once downloaded and installed, can install more spyware, adware, and so on.

Adware: Otherwise known as advertising-supported software, once installed, adware can automatically play, display, or download advertisements on your computer. The goal of adware is to make revenue for its author. Even though it is really irritating, adware by itself, is in most cases harmless.

Keyloggers: Logs your key strokes, normally to figure out financial information and/or passwords.

URL Injector: This particular program automatically switches particular Web addresses you type into your internet browser with an affiliate URL to the same website so the author of the software gets a commission payment on lots of things you pay for on the net.

Dialers: This program uses your PC's modem to dial commonly premium-rate phone numbers.

About the Author

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