If you've been using a computer for a while you've probably encountered the term "malware" before. Malware is a combination of the words "malicious" and "software," and refers to any software on your computer that is malicious in nature.
It's an all-encompassing term that refers to viruses, Trojan horses, spyware, adware, and anything else of that nature.
Unfortunately, the internet is a dangerous place. While it's full of information that can help you in all aspects of your life, it is also home to some things that can mess up your computer. In fact, it's possible for your computer to become infected just by going to the wrong website (a site infected with malware). There are indeed "bad guys" on the internet, too, who write software designed to infect your computer without your knowledge and do anything from show you ads (when you don't want to see them), to steal information from your computer, to copy your passwords to your personal accounts, to prevent your computer from functioning properly. Indeed, some malware isn't even noticeable by you as the user, but is still collecting information about you and sending it back to someone who is essentially spying on you. Even though it doesn't have a noticeable effect on your computer or its performance, most people would still prefer to not have this software spy on them.
What's worse is sometimes when your computer is infected with these programs, you can unknowingly distribute them to other people. A common method of this that you may have experienced yourself is a program that goes into your email inbox and emails a copy of itself to everyone in your address book. You may have encountered this if you've ever gotten a seemingly random email from one of your friends (who has you in their address book) that didn't make sense but had a suspicious link or file attached to the email and they told you to click on it.
Fortunately, there are also "good guys" who write software to help you counter the malware described above. These programs can scan your computer to detect any malicious software and some of them can also run in the background, continuously monitoring to see if any malware is trying to install itself (perhaps from a suspicious file you downloaded, or from a website you are visiting that is infected).
There are various anti-malware programs available, so be sure to read up on them and see which ones best meet your needs.
One of the most popular anti-malware programs is called Malwarebytes. Check out this site for a Malwarebytes coupon and start protecting your computer today!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cody_Halter
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