Virus or Spyware - What's the Difference? by Dave Fraser
This month's article is one of the things I still find comes up as a frequent question, "what's the difference between Viruses and Spyware"? so I will try and answer that here. One of the biggest slowdowns of a PC is caused by viruses, adware or spyware as it's often called. ... A virus is a piece of malicious software code written to cause some kind of damage to a computer system or network or even the Internet itself. ... Sometimes people say to me "doesn't my anti-virus software remove spyware"?

Who is Controlling Your PC? The Rise of Botnets by Nash Trout
It is getting creepier and creepier knowing that Botnets are on the rise. More and more PCs are being infected of Bots and trojans that are lurking in your PC without you knowing it. It is estimated that a quarter of all PCs currently connected to the Internet (around 150 million) could be... What we can do as individuals is to protect our own PCs with anti-virus and anti-spyware tools to thwart those malicious trojans from ever controlling our PC to launch attacks on the internet. ... This could be used by a competitor company to put the web services of another one to a halt.

The Main Online Security Threats? by Raymond Johansen
By logging on to the net, you are at risk at once. Online security threats are a big challenge today. There are several types of threats on the internet. The main threats are Spyware, Viruses and Hackers. It is absolutely necessary to protect yourself, your computer and your personal information... Many anti virus programs are installed with a email scanner. ... Anti virus software is necessary to protect yourself from viruses. ... Spyware is software designed to steal information from your computer.

How Hackers Gain Control of Your Computer by Richard Rogers
Your PC has many "ports" which are vulnerable to attack from a hacker. These ports are used to communicate internally with your monitor or printer or externally to the internet. For example, Port 25 is used for receiving incoming email and Port 80 is used to connect to the internet. ... 4) Install an anti virus program and keep the virus definitions up to date. ... When the attachment is opened the virus loads itself onto your computer and allows the hacker to control your computer. ... Another common way that hackers use to gain control of your computers is by sending out Trojan Viruses...

Spyware and Adware Double the Trouble as Compared To Viruses by Dennis Evans
Spyware is a broad category of malicious software designed to intercept or take partial control of a computer's operation without the informed consent of that machine's owner or legitimate user. Spyware differs from viruses and worms in that it does not usually self-replicate. ... Anti Virus programs have all got good at detecting a virus however not all spy ware software has the process of catching spy ware and adware as well. ... And then those true spyware files that do infect some computer also alter your registry and not all anti spyware software will clean your registry of those...

Spyware Is Not the Only Malware Threat to Your Home Computer by Richard Rogers
Given the huge amount of press and industry attention to “Spyware” it is easy to forget there are other types of malicious software or “malware” out there. Viruses, Worms and Trojans are still being developed to steal your personal data or damage your computer. ... Here are some common symptoms of infection by any of they types of malware: - Unexplained crashes - Strange program error messages - Computer freezes - Poor computer performance - Angry emails from people you have “spammed” or unknowingly sent a virus (sign that your computer is a possible “Zombie”).

Has My PC Got A Virus by Mike Morris
What is a virus? The term broadly describes any program that tries to hide a malicious function or spread copies of itself on to as many computers as possible. Believe it or not most viruses are benign, displaying a message or picture at a specific time. ... The best way to ensure protection from viruses is to install a specialised piece of software often referred to as anti-virus software or a virus checker. ... You will now find teat the major anti-virus companies now also keep a list of Hoax Viruses so users can identify the validity of an e-mailed virus alert immediately.

Broken Computer - Fix or Fling? by Tony Roberts
Okay, so your computer has stopped working for whatever reason. Is it the hard drive? The processor? Is it some adware, a Trojan, a virus? Has a chip on the RAM blown or the CPU overloaded? Should you hire a computer repair service, or should you buy yourself a new computer? ... It really is worth taking the time to hire a professional computer repair service to fix your computer, not only can they probably do the job quicker than you could, but they will do it properly and without any risk of damaging your computer.

What Is The Price Of Your Computer's Security? by F. Aldo
An Associated Press (AP) report recently stated that security products still sell despite the widespread availability of free software. Falling under the category of security would be anti virus software, anti spyware software, email spam blockers, firewalls and the like. ... Almost all of these anti virus vendors now provide an entire suite of computer security programs. ... OEM products are sold by the manufacturer (for example, the anti virus company) to the computer system vendor at greatly reduced cost and that is why the vendor can afford to pass it on to the consumer for free.

NCSA Study Shows Many Computers Lack Antivirus Protection by Eva Gibson
Even with the scads of information available, even with the numerous antivirus options available to consumers, and even though internet users are inundated with offers for antivirus and anti spyware programs, it seems that some people prefer to take their chances when it comes to infecting their... A Trojan horse is a program that masquerades as a benign application, but actually will damage your computer if you try to run the program. ... Though worms and Trojans are not technically viruses, they often fall into the subcategory of "virus." A worm is a piece of software that replicates...