Malware
This is mostly a general term that actually is a phrase used to describe a larger group of infections which include the likes of spyware, rootkits, crimeware, computer worms and viruses. Some malware is known to be of greater danger to a computer's operating system in terms of its ability to damage data and expose your PC. Lets quickly take a brief look at a few different types of malware infections which can removed with internet security software programs.
The virus infection is worth mentioning first due to its effects. A virus will usually go about infecting program EXE files on a given system and will then let itself spread from application to application as they are loaded up in your operating system environment. Damage includes data removal, corruption, file manipulation and these effects will simply leave your computer in a state where it might not be able to boot up or operate effectively.
Spyware is one infection that always manages to keep itself well hidden from a computer user in that it does not show symptoms like that of a virus or trojan horse. It can however secretly harvest little amounts of personal or confidential information about a user including his regular surfing activities and can manipulate certain system preferences in such a way that it will cause instability. Most people know they have spyware when they see web adverts and on most occasions can remove it rapidly with their internet security software program.
When a person has a Trojan horse infection on their computer it usually means that there is a very good chance that their system is about to be hacked by a third party. I speak from experience. Trojan horses are not able to replicate but once installed and in memory, these infections will allow harmful outside web sources the ability to hack your system. One of the biggest scares of this infection is that it can allow a person to take various login details that will in turn allow them to access bank accounts, web hosting accounts and anything else which could in reality severely affect your life. Often anti spyware internet security software will not be enough to remove this infection which means you will need a strong antivirus.