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What Is The Difference Between Malware and Viruses? | Corona, CA

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Data Breach

It’s very important to know the difference between malware and viruses. A virus is just one kind of malware, but the actual term is largely used by the public. The term “malware” refers to any type of malicious software that’s designed to infect your computer or mobile device, including a computer virus.

What is Malware?

Malware is a software that’s designed to specifically hard and infect host systems. This includes viruses along with other kinds of malicious software such as Trojans, worms, spyware and adware. Ransomware is also another type of malware that’s used to commit financial fraud and extort money from those that use computers.

Common Malware:

  • Virus- This is a contagious program that attaches itself to another piece of software, and then progresses to reproduce itself when the software is running. Viruses are often spread by sharing files or software between computers.
  • Adware- Adware is the least dangerous and most profitable malware. It displays ads on your computer.
  • Spyware- This is a software that spies on you by tracking your internet activity in order to send adware back to your machine.
  • Worms- This is a program that replicates itself and destroys data and files on your computer. Worms are designed to “eat” the system operating files and data till the drive is completely empty.
  • Trojan Horse- This is one of the most dangerous Malwares. Torjans are designed to discover your financial information and take over your computers system resources.
  • Ransomware- If you see a screen that warns you that you have been locked out of your computer until you pay for your “cybercrimes”, you have ransomware. Even if you do pay to unlock your system, you are not free from of it locking you out again. The request for money is usually in the thousands.

In order for you to protect your devices from the malware mentioned above, you must use an effective anti-virus. If you suspect that your computer is infected with malware, contact Up & Running Computer Solutions in Corona, CA at 951-737-8558 today. We can repair your computer and get you back up and running! To learn more about our company or to put in a service request visit our website at www.urcs.net.