Malware viruses are unwanted or malicious software that can harm a computer or network. They can be viruses, worms, Trojan horses, spyware, or other forms of unwanted software. Malware can serve various purposes, from pranks to financial gain. Trojan horse viruses are particularly dangerous, as they can erase hard drives or steal confidential information. Keystroke loggers are a new type of malware that steals personal information. Antivirus and antispam software can protect against malware viruses.
A malware virus is an umbrella term for any annoying or malicious software that makes its way onto a computer or network without the owner’s knowledge. The word “malware” comes from the phrase “malicious software”. The software is considered as malware depending on the intention of its creator. Computer viruses, worms, Trojan horses, spyware, or any other form of unwanted software can be considered malware viruses. It is important to distinguish a malware virus from “bugs” or minor flaws in otherwise legitimate software.
A malware virus can serve a variety of purposes, from simple pranks or vandalism, to making a financial profit for its creator. Throughout the history of malware in the 1980s and 1990s, almost every malware virus was written for the sole purpose of making a joke. Among the less harmful viruses circulating during this time was one that opened all text documents on a hard drive and changed every instance of the word “and” to “not”. A virus is technically defined as malware that requires computer user intervention to function, such as opening a malicious email attachment. Worms are variants of viruses and can achieve the same goal, but are more insidious because they run on their own without user intervention.
One of the most notorious and dangerous types of malware viruses that have been seen is the Trojan horse virus. This is a group of viruses that make their way onto a computer and act as a kind of time bomb. At the appointed time, they can erase a hard drive or steal confidential information before rendering the person’s computer essentially unusable. Trojan horse viruses typically present themselves as something they are not in order to gain access to a computer’s hard drive and hide themselves.
More recently, it has been common to see malware viruses attempting to profit by stealing personal information from a computer user. Keystroke loggers are an example of this new type of malware. Their purpose is to track every keystroke performed on a computer, in order to extract data such as passwords, credit card numbers and other sensitive information. This financially motivated malware is often referred to as crimeware or spyware and can be some of the most annoying malware out there.
Fortunately, there are many ways that computer users can protect themselves from the threat of a malware virus. Antivirus and antispam software are excellent starting points and are recommended for those who have a computer running Windows. It is usually not considered necessary on computers with other operating systems, as most viruses are not written in a way that targets them.
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