What is Malware?
GCSE theory - Malware
Malware
Malware comes from the term Malicious Software and is used to describe all programs that are designed to do damage to your computer. There are different types of Malware, each is discussed on its own page. The video from Norton Security Software gives a good introduction to Malware (obviously they try to sell their software too ). The bottom video looks at Malware from a GCSE Computer Science view point.
Types of Malware:
- Viruses
- Worms
- Trojans
- Rootkits
- Hybrids and Exotic Forms
- Ransomware
- Adware
- Malvertising
- Spyware
To defend against Malware you need to have Antivirus software installed, up to date and running (if you need free anti virus then Avast and AVG are both good). You also want to have a firewall to prevent unwanted communication with your computer (these are built into most modern antivirus software)
You also want an Anti Malware program. Malware Bytes free version is very good at detecting and removing malware that has manged to install itself (obviously the paid version is better). The free version has to be manually run.