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What is Malware? Bad For Your Computer?

Malware means software that was made to get into and damage your computer system without your consent. Once it appears on your machine, it can be very challenging to get rid of. While it differs from program to program, malware can either be annoying or seriously damaging to all components of your system. By law, malware is a computer contaminant, making it completely illegal.

There are a number of different goals involved with malware. The earliest malware programs were written as pranks or experiments. As some programmers begin to learn their way around systems and the internet, they wrote malware just to see what they can do with it. For example, a beginning programmer might write a virus code to see how far it could spread. Others, though, have far more hostile intents for writing malware. One reason they might write code like this is to vandalize current websites. This is a lot like kids with a can of spray paint near a public wall. Another reason malware gets written is to cause a loss of data to major systems. Malware can completely erase the memory files of computer systems if written properly, and many malware authors have this intention, for one reason or another, as they write their vicious code. There have been many pieces of malware written for revenge. Employees who are about to lose their jobs can sometimes leave malware behind on the company system to do damage to their former employer's ability to do business. Lots of malware, though is written for profit. Malware can send e-mail spam (so the original sender is disguised), cause the computer to serve as a host to illegal data, or engage in other illegal activities. Moreover, malware can be used to spy on users, display pop-ups while the user is not on the internet, and obtain user information like bank accounts or credit card numbers.

There are two major types of malware: viruses and worms. A virus is a program that infects other programs. A worm transmits itself to infect other computers. The terms, though, are often used interchangeably by those who do not understand their meanings. No matter the type of malware, in order for it to work correctly, it must be able to run without the user shutting the computer down. Being hidden also helps the program to get installed in the first place. Because of this, malware is usually disguised as a Trojan horse. This is a program that quietly runs in the background, inviting the user to run it, while spreading its malicious code. This code can do any number of things. It can start right away or it may simply install a program that won't start for sometime. Once it does start, it can delete all of the files on the computer or it can infect the computer and try to infect other computers on the network. There are a number of ways malware is delivered, and as a Trojan horse is the most common. It usually comes with other pieces of software that a user might find interesting. This software is usually shared through a file-sharing network or downloadable off of the internet. Once the user installs the software, the spyware also gets installed.

As previously mentioned, in the last few years, the most common reason malware is infecting computers is for the profit of the malware creator. In most cases, it gets information about the computer user and shows them pop-up ads related to their needs. It can even redirect internet search engine results to the benefit of the malware creator. In addition to these things, malware can infect your e-mail address book. Once this occurs, spam will be sent to every single person in your address book. This spam will usually be an advertisement of some sort for the malware creator's website. Once infected with malware, the creator can also profit from it by stealing important information like bank account information, credit card numbers, or contact information. It can steal the password information for your software licensing. Malware can also take control of your modem to make expensive telephone calls from the creator.

Once infected, a malware computer is very difficult to clean. It usually takes a complete system deletion to restore your computer to its normal state.

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