ISEngineers.com

Who is who and What is What

Source:http://office-remover-adware.spyout.info

SPYWARE :
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. While the term taken literally suggests software that surreptitiously monitors the user, it has come to refer more broadly to software that subverts the computer's operation for the benefit of a third party. Spyware differs from viruses and worms in that it does not usually self-replicate. Like many recent viruses , however, spyware - by design - exploits infected computers for commercial gain. Typical tactics furthering this goal include delivery of unsolicited pop-up advertisements; theft of personal information (including financial information such as credit card numbers); monitoring of Web-browsing activity for marketing purposes; or routing of HTTP requests to advertising sites . As of 2005, pundits have often characterized spyware as the pre-eminent security threat for computers running Microsoft Windows operating systems. Some malware on the Linux and Mac OS X platforms has behavior similar to Windows spyware , but to date has not become anywhere near as widespread.

Malicious websites may attempt to install spyware on reader's computers. It may looks like security upgrade or plugin installation.

ADWARE :
Adware or advertising-supported software is any software package which automatically plays, displays, or downloads advertising material to a computer after the software is installed on it or while the application is being used. There are concerns about adware because it often takes the form of spyware , in which information about the user's activity is tracked, reported, and often re-sold, often without the knowledge or consent of the user. Of even greater concern is malware , which may interfere with the function of other software applications, in order to force users to visit a particular web site. It is not uncommon for people to confuse "adware " with "spyware " and "malware ", especially since these concepts overlap. For example, if one user installs "adware " on a computer, and consents to a tracking feature, the "adware " becomes "spyware " when another user visits that computer, and interacts with and is tracked by the "adware " without their consent.

VIRUSES :
In computer security technology, a virus is a self-replicating program that spreads by inserting copies of itself into other executable code or documents. A computer virus behaves in a way similar to a biological virus, which spreads by inserting itself into living cells. Extending the analogy, the insertion of a virus into the program is termed as an infection, and the infected file (or executable code that is not part of a file) is called a host. While computer viruses can be intentionally destructive (for example, by destroying data), many other viruses are fairly benign or merely annoying. Some viruses have a delayed payload, which is sometimes called a bomb. For example, a virus might display a message on a specific day or wait until it has infected a certain number of hosts.

WORMS :
A computer worm is a self-replicating computer program, similar to a computer virus . A virus attaches itself to, and becomes part of, another executable program; however, a worm is self-contained and does not need to be part of another program to propagate itself. They are often designed to exploit the file transmission capabilities found on many computers. The main difference between a computer virus and a worm is that a virus can not propagate by itself whereas worms can. A worm uses a network to send copies of itself to other systems and it does so without any intervention. In general, worms harm the network and consume bandwidth, whereas viruses infect or corrupt files on a targeted computer.

TROJAN HORSES :
Trojan horse is a malicious program that is disguised as legitimate software. The term is derived from the classical myth of the Trojan horse. In the siege of Troy, the Greeks left a large wooden horse outside the city. The Trojans were convinced that it was a gift, and moved the horse to a place within the city walls. It turned out that the horse was hollow, containing Greek soldiers who opened the city gates of Troy at night, making it possible for the Greek army to pillage the city. Trojan horse programs work in a similar way: they may look useful or interesting (or at the very least harmless) to an unsuspecting user, but are actually harmful when executed.