What You Need to Know About Viruses

It almost goes without saying that you need some kind of virus protection if you have a computer. The good news is that there are almost limitless options available for making sure that everything on your machine is running more or less smoothly. The bad news is that there are varying degrees of virus protection, and that they are not all created equal. For example, some free software might not be as robust as its pay-to-use counterparts. In other words, it’s possible that something may get through the chinks in the virus-protection armor.

The dilemma, then, is finding which antivirus software best fits your needs. Unfortunately, you can’t really do that unless you know about different kinds of malware and the efficiency of different virus protection software. Fortunately, TopTenREVIEWS has exhaustive data and reviews that demarcate the pros and cons of quite a few different antivirus software applications and side-by-side comparison charts that detail each product's special features, enhanced capabilities and threat-detection proficiency. As far as learning about virus protection software goes, this should have you covered. In order to educate you regarding different types of viruses and malware, we've created the following list that contains a number of terms to help you understand the basics of how bad viruses really are and the benefits that a good antivirus software application can provide.

Virus - A computer virus is usually a small, seemingly inconsequential program that is made to spread from one computer to many others. The main function of a virus is to disrupt the manner in which your computer operates, and viruses can do this in many ways. Viruses can be designed to delete important data, corrupt necessary system software or erase everything on your hard drive.

Malware - Malware is an umbrella term that is used to describe any and every kind of software designed to damage or cripple your computer.

Keystroke logger - This kind of virus records things that users type in order to capture sensitive data such as passwords, personal information and even bank account information and credit card numbers.

Rootkit - A rootkit is software designed to access information on a computer while keeping itself hidden from virus-protection software. Oftentimes, reinstalling your computer’s operating system is the only way to get rid of a rootkit.

Scare - A scare is exactly what it sounds like: an exaggerated threat.

Spyware - While spyware is not technically considered a virus, it is certainly invasive. While the term covers a wide range of applications and software, the result is that spyware sends information that it finds on your computer to third parties that can then use this information however they choose.

Trojan - Much like the famous wooden horse, Trojan viruses often get the gates open so that even worse things can make their way inside. In other words, Trojan viruses work in conjunction with other viruses. The worst thing about Trojans is that they usually seem like legitimate software or files. Once they’re in, however, they start exposing known flaws or facilitating other users' ability to access your computer using the internet.

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