Anti-CIV

Malware is malicious software created by people known as hackers. Malware comes in many forms and you may have heard it referred to as worms, Trojans, Spyware, or Adware. These computer viruses are not interchangeable and they all perform different tasks. It is important to understand what each one is and what its purpose is in order to protect yourself from them.

Worms and Trojans are essentially the same kind of virus. They are viruses designed to find their way into your computer through your Internet connection and then do some sort of damage. In many cases they will cause some sort of damage to your hard drive. For example, a virus like this may completely reformat your hard drive when it is triggered. Viruses can also be used to hijack your computer for the virus creators needs. These types of computer viruses are the most malicious and cause the most headaches to computer users. They can make a computer not usable and dangerous to other computers on your network.

Spyware is a kind of Malware that has a few purposes. One of the main purposes of spyware is to collect personal information. This information can be used for things like determining your buying habits and sending you Spam email based on those habits or even stealing your identity.

Malware is a form of software that launches a malicious attack on your personal computer by making changes without your knowledge or consent. Many times people think of this in terms of computer viruses, even though malware actually covers a large range of computer problems that can be instituted through these bad software programs. This includes Trojan horses, worms, spyware, and adware. Some people also refer to malware as a form of computer contaminant, as it is something that actively gets into your computer and wreaks havoc.

People who do not know or understand what’s going on may think that their computer is crashing due to defective software, but malware is not defective. It’s software that’s specifically designed to destroy your computer. This means that while it causes your computer to crash, it is doing what is has been programmed to do, and therefore it is running exactly as it should be – which is bad news for you.

First let’s cover the basics.

Definitions

*Virus: a software program capable of reproducing itself and usually capable of causing great harm to files or other programs on the same computer …

*Spy-ware is computer software that is installed surreptitiously on a personal computer to intercept or take partial control over the users interaction with the computer, without the users informed consent.

*Junk Files: Over the course of time, your computer accumulates unwanted and unremoved junk files that are no longer necessary. These junk files remain unused by the operating system, but occupy much disk space.

The first step to optimizing your computer is removal of any virus, malware, spyware, and adware infecting your computer. You may notice pop-ups, error messages, difficulty navigating on the internet, a change in home page, a slowdown in computer functions, and other undesirable behaviours. You need programs designed to eliminate these threats. Once the threats have been neutralized and eliminated you will be ready to take the next step in optimizing the performance of your computer. First let’s look at what we are dealing with.

When most people use a computer, they only see the outside of it. They have no idea about what goes on underneath the keyboard. All they know is that once they type something on the keyboard, it will show up on the screen instantly. But if you take the time to learn what goes on underneath the hood, then you may find that it can be a fascinating world. You may wonder why there are so many different attacks when it comes to the computer but that is because there are so many different layers that can be attacked.

One of the sections that I consider the most fascinating is the memory area of the computer. This area is otherwise known as RAM. Most people say that the processor is the brains of the computer because it is where you process the data that is received but the memory of the computer can be described as the brain as well. While it may not be the place that calculates the data, it is the place that stores it just like your brain does.

Types Of Malware

Malware is still a relatively uncommon term, and is not familiar to many lay users of computer software. Essentially, the term refers to any kind of software that is created with the malicious intent of harming the host computer or carrying out unauthorized installations and procedures without the knowledge of the user.

Malware also refers to spyware and adware that conducts surreptitious operations on a computer. Malware is different from viruses, but they both share the common origin of being created with the specific intention of causing harm to the host computer. A legitimate program that you install which does not run properly because it has defects is not malware.

Malware programs are more frequent in installations that users perform themselves, such as peer to peer applications, than in installations from purchased software. Some of the most common ways in which malware installs itself on your computer is through Trojan horses and rootkits.

Trojan horses, as the term implies, are harmful installations which are hidden in seemingly innocuous installations. While running these installations seems harmless, what the user does not realize is that malware is also covertly installing itself at the same time.

There are so many ways to access the web, and all the of smart devices account for even more traffic on the World Wide Web. This overflow of users calls for increased website security that will offer a noticeable extension of online protection.

One of the best solutions is a malware scanner. The software applications that are written to attack websites, computers and email accounts have become even more dangerous than they were in the early stages of computing. Anyone that accesses the web knows about all of the dangers that various sites can cause. Unfortunately, the majority of the users that are exposed to viruses fail to take the needed precautions to prevent these attacks.

Malware takes all shapes and forms. It can come in the form of a virus, worm, spyware and any other software that was created with a malicious intent. These attacks are sometimes triggered simply from visiting a particular webpage. There are other times when the application is unleashed through the download of a file.

Are you worried about surfing the web and stumbling onto a page that contains Malware? Who doesn’t? Wikipedia defines Malware as:

“A portmanteau from the words malicious and software, is software designed to infiltrate or damage a computer system without the owner’s informed consent. The expression is a general term used by computer professionals to mean a variety of forms of hostile, intrusive, or annoying software or program code.”

Let me tell you of 2 very easy ways to check a site before you visit it.

Option 1: Click on my website link at the bottom of this article and look in the left hand menu and click on the link that says “check any site for malware instantly” to use Google’s Safe Browsing Diagnostic Tool. It includes a small Bookmarklet you can add to your browser just by dragging it into your browser’s toolbar area.

Option 2:

Step 1: Open a new Tab in your browser

Step 2: Copy and paste the URL i have specified on the same page as instructed above into your address bar. This will open a Diagnostics page with the following info in the report. I have used my site as an example. What is the current listing status for christianhoughonline.com?