Infections
What Is A Virus / Trojan / Worm / Rootkit
Simple:
Computer "Virus" can be used as a broad term meaning any unwanted program that causes direct harm to your computer or files.
Details:
More specifically, computer infections have several classifications.
- Virus - A program that infects and spreads between files. Programs and data can be harmed or deleted.
- Trojan - Named after the Trojan Horse it is a program disguised as something innocent and once in a machine it often lowers security settings and "opens the gate" to let something worse in or carry out a specific function.
- Worm - Similar to a virus but instead of spreading into files and programs they are usually spread through security holes in networks.
- Rootkit - A program (or kit) designed to get Administrative (or root) access to the computer. Once having root access a person or program can do nearly anything.
What Is Spyware / Adware / Malware / Greyware
Simple:
"Spyware" can be a broad term meaning an unwanted program that causes indirect harm to your computer or computer experience.
Details:
Because spyware usually does not cause direct harm (corruption of data or programs) they are not considered a virus. They can, however, cause indirect harm by changing or diminishing your computer experience without harming your software. Most of these programs are software that lies in a grey area between unwanted viruses and programs you choose to install - hence they are often referred to as Greyware. Any program that has bad intentions can be called malicious software, or Malware, but the term is most frequently used to describe so called Greyware.
Not all Spyware (the general term) is an actual program. It is possible to have non-executing files, Windows Registry entries, or software settings changed to accomplish the ill-meaning goals of Spyware that do not involve an actual "program".
- Spyware - A program or method of tracing, tracking, or spying on a computer user's history or computer use habits.
- Adware - A program or method that either causes excessive advertisements and popups, or hijacks normal advertisements when viewing a website and replaces them with a different set of advertisements.
- Greyware / Grayware - Any program that is neither a wanted, harmless, and intended program, nor severe enough to be considered a Virus. Its classification is in a hard to define grey area.
- Malware - Malicious Software but most often meaning another term for Greyware or Spyware.
How Does Your Computer Get Infected
Simple:
In general, most computers get infections from visiting the wrong kind of websites, by downloading files from file sharing programs, receiving infected emails / instant messaging, or by sharing storage devices (external hard drives, USB memory sticks, burnable CDs etc) that are already infected.
Details:
There are a couple of different reasons why computer infections exist. Some people may try to make a profit by either selling you a fake program such as a fake Anti-Virus, or by stealing your financial information or both. Others just see the opportunity to become infamous. Still others may have the sole intent of causing issues for as many people as they can. Some may even just be trying to perform a self test on their own security and the test got out of control or fell into the wrong hands.
Most of the time a computer has to run an infected program to get infected. Getting you, or your computer to run that program is what is often spent the most time on by those who want you to become infected.
When you download music from a file sharing program, all it takes is for someone to share an infected song. You download that song and when you go to play the song you end up spreading the infection. It's not just for music, or for file sharing programs. Anytime you open a shared file or picture, send or receive an email and then open it you are at risk.
When you visit a website you are actually downloading HTML and other webcode that your computer is then translating into what you see on your screen. Malicious websites will add code to their websites to try to take advantage of security holes in your computer. Once upon a time, these security holes were primarily only known about for your operating system and Internet browser.
Today, we have addons, toolbars, browser helper objects, and tools such as Java and Flash to help your computer to render webpages and provide us with a more friendly experience. On the other hand, each of these can come with its own set of security holes. That is why it is important to keep everything up to date.
Can Infections Be Removed / Cleaned
Simple:
Yes. Computer infections can almost always be successfully removed or cleaned. However, once a file is damaged or deleted by a virus it can not always be recovered. Therefore, there may be some circumstances when the system needs to be reinstalled or that data loss may result. This, in my experience, is almost never the case. Seriously. In the past, non reputable would up sell a customer into an OS reinstall because it was easier and more profitable.
Details:
One of the most common questions people have is how much will it be to clean an infected computer. Consider this, some will charge a flat fee for virus removal, while others will charge based upon time. Why? The reasons are dependent on the business. With a flat fee simple infection make money while serious ones lose money.
There are millions of computer viruses and each has unique properties. One virus may take 1 minutes to remove while another may take hours. Also consider that a computer hardly ever has just one infection. Most of the time a trojan lowers security settings and downloads multiple infections while you do not even know. By the time you notice you may have many different infections that have replicated many times each.
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