Computer Hardware and Networking

Mal ware are software that have malicious intent and can do lot of things. It can steal your user name, password, take control of your PC, slow down your PC and many more.

Even big companies also use malware in their product. For example, Sony put a rootkit inside their CD to prevent piracy. Even though they are a big company, using malicious software inside their product is unacceptable.
There are few types of malware and below is the list for 7 types of malicious software and a brief description of each:

1. Spyware
As the name implies, spyware is software that will spy on everything you do, which websites you’re visiting, your browsing habit, installing additional software and changing your homepage. You can remove it by installing antispyware.

2. Adware
Few books have different opinions on adware, some categorized it as spyware but displays advertising, others put adware into their own category. Whatever the category is, adware is software that displays advertising and it can be installed legally inside your PC. The mass amount of pop-ups that you’re experiencing while surfing the internet can be caused by adware.

3. Rootkit
Rootkit is software that can hide it presence inside your PC. Even your antivirus will not be able to detect it. However, if you schedule your antivirus to scan before your Windows boot up, then you might be able to get a chance to remove it. Another way that you can try is to use the Rootkit Revealer by SysInternal.

4. Trojan Horse
Trojan Horse is software named after the famous Trojan Horse in the Greek Mythology. As the name implies, this malicious software will only do his job if you execute it and usually disguise itself as a folder to trick you.

5. Worm
A computer worm is software that can infect your PC and will turn your PC into a zombie computer. A zombie computer is a computer that can be controlled by the hackers and usually is used to execute the DDoS attack and for example, the Conficker Worm.

6. Virus
I think this is one of the most famous malicious software. A computer virus is software that can replicate itself in your system and will infect certain file types and making it useless. There are also viruses that infect .doc files or .swf files.

The term virus also used to describe other types of malware such as Trojan Horse and Computer Worms. Technically, it’s not the same.

7. Keylogger
Keylogger is software that records everything that you type including your username, password, credit card information and many more. Every time you use your keyboard, it will record everything and send it back to its creator.

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