Malware infections are a fact of life for many computer users. Even with a high level of protection in place, it is possible for your computer to become infected with malware. The most common forms of malware include: adware, spyware, viruses, Trojans, and computer worms.
What Is Adware?
An annoying but typically harmless form of malware is adware. Designed to populate a computer with a variety of pop-up ads, adware becomes active whenever the computer is connected to the Internet.What Is Spyware?
Spyware generally infects a computer silently, since it is designed to gather information from the computer on which it has become entrenched. Some forms of spyware are designed simply to gather data on the browsing habits of the individuals whose computers have become infected. Other forms of spyware are designed to steal more important types of data including usernames, passwords, and financial data. Keylogging spyware keeps track of every keystroke a computer user makes.
What Are Computer Viruses?
Computer viruses are insidious forms of malware that can begin their infection silently. Quite often, computer users unwittingly download computer viruses by clicking on attachments or links that activate the virus. It is also common for a computer virus to exist for quite some time before it is discovered. Computer viruses are designed to create major problems for computer users whose machines have become infected.
What are Trojans?
Trojans are forms of malware that are designed for a specific purpose such as hacking into a computer’s database, infecting the computer with adware or spyware, or data mining. Trojans are notorious for bringing along additional forms of malware with them when they infect a computer. Typically, a Trojan is an executable file that can create a great many problems for the computer user once it is activated.
What Is a Computer Worm?
Computer worms are designed to self replicate in order to spread from a single infected computer to multiple computers in a short period of time. Each worm copies itself, creating countless copies that are sent, via email transmission, to infect additional computers.
No matter what form of computer infection you are dealing with, you should attempt to have it removed as soon as possible. Computer malware eats your system resources while creating damage to your files or stealing information.