A Modern Disease of Our Times

Malware also known as Spyware is now a common plague of computers these days and has become more common than the conventional virus. In this article you will find explanations of the different types of malware, how to remove an infection and how to prevent an infection in the first place.

Malware What is It?

Malware is software which is created to infiltrate your PC and cause damage or record your online and offline activities against your will. Here are the descriptions of the various types of malware infecting computers today.

Adware.
Adware will hide on your computer and show popup windows containing adverts for various dubious products. this type of malware is more annoying than harmful.

Virus.
Viruses act like real world viruses, they conceal themselves within executable software and will be activated when you start the host software.. A Virus will self replicate and place copies of itself into other software or documents. This can causes an extensive infestation of your PC and cause all sorts of damage.

Worm.
A Worm will also make copies of itself just like a virus but can execute itself without the need for a host application, it will then send multiple copies of itself to other computers via the internet.

Ransom Ware.
Ransom ware is used to extort money from the computer owner by locking up important files on the computer. It will then display a message demanding a certain sum of money to get these files unlocked.


Trojan Horses.
A Trojan Horse as the name suggests is disguised as or sometimes hidden inside other legitimate software. They usually get on to your computer in some form of free software downloaded from the internet.

Spyware.
Spyware is designed to monitor and record all of your keyboard actions, internet activity and personal details such as credit card details and passwords and send them via the internet to the spyware maker using email.

What are the Symptoms?.

One of the first signs of infection is a marked reduction in speed and performance of your PC. Sometimes even appearing to pause or hang. Another is that windows will behave erratically and unstable. Malware will sometimes display popup windows at random. If you have a good antivirus program it should let you know of the presence of Malware and offer to remove it for you.

How Does my Computer Get Infected.

Emails.
If you receive any email from unknown or unexpected senders make sure that you scan it before opening it with your antivirus software and if you have any doubts do not open it.

Suspect Websites.
Browsing some websites that are suspect can lead to infection because the malware can be hidden as code in the web page itself.

Peer to Peer File Sharing Software.
Peer to peer software used to download illegal music, video and software is a malware creators dream. A lot of the files available on peer to peer networks have malware hidden within them or are not the files you were expecting at all.

Popup messages.
Malware can often infect your computer through popups or IP popups. IP popups are sent direct to your computers IP address and can not be stopped by popup blockers. Popups like this are often disguised as Windows error messages instructing you to 'click here' to rectify the error. When you click the button you are executing malware.

Instant Messaging Software.
This may be a surprise to many of you as instant messaging software is becoming very popular. Infection usually happens when sharing files with people so be careful who you share files with.

Networks.
All computers on a network are at risk of infection if one of those computers has malware on it.. For that reason all network computers must be protected by Antivirus software and a firewall.

How to prevent Malware infection.

Use Internet Securities Software.
The most effective way to protect your computer is with good quality antivirus and antispyware from a reputable company like Norton or McAfee. I do not recommend that you use free antivirus software, these tend not be very effective and can be malware in disguise. Which ever one you use just make sure that you keep it regularly updated and remember to renew your yearly subscription. Remember, out of date antivirus software is completely useless.

Use a firewall.
Windows XP and Vista both have a firewall built in and you should have them switched on. Most internet securities applications will have an excellent firewall feature so use this in favour of windows firewall.

Update windows regularly.
Update regularly using Windows update facility to ensure you have all the latest critical security updates. Security holes in Windows are often found and Microsoft will have patches for these available..

Curing your infected computer.
With any good antispyware application like Error Smart removing malware is a simple task. If you set it up to do so it will remove malware automatically and then inform you once the offender has been dealt with. To read a review of Error Smart and get a FREE scan click here

A final word of advice.
You will be at a much higher risk of infection if you visit illegal or immoral websites as these sites tend to be set up and frequented by people who have no scruples and will think nothing of infecting your computer along with many others.