Antivirus
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Antivirus
When discussing antivirus, 'malware'(short for malicious software) is a more appropriate term than ‘computer virus’; it incorporates all software designed to interfere with the operation of a computer.
Malware doesn’t form from within a computer, it must be transferred on to it by you, i.e. through copying, installing or downloading; it's hidden in downloaded files / programs and pirated software, and is normally disguised as, or concealed in: images; videos; audio files; games. There are 3 main types of malicious computer software: viruses; worms; trojan horses.
Adware and spyware differ to other types of malware in that their purpose isn’t to damage your computer. Adware shows you frequent unsolicited advertising (typically in pop-up windows); whereas, spyware monitors and records your computing activities and then passes that information on to other people.
It’s not always immediately obvious when your computer has been infected with malicious software; however, over time, issues affecting your computers usability will likely build up. Common symptoms of malicious software being present on your computer include your:
-Computer taking longer than expected to start.
-Hard-disk drives, CD-ROMs or USB drives being inaccessible.
-Computer running significantly slower than it used to.
-Files or programs disappearing without you deleting them.
-Desktop being populated with new, unwanted icons.
-Computer regularly failing to respond (often referred to as ‘freezing’).
-Computer restarting itself.
-Free space on the hard disk being unexplainably used up.
-Computer displaying frequent unusual error messages.
-Your web browsing speed being significantly slowed down.
-Receiving excessive pop-up windows when browsing the internet.
If your computer has been infected by malicious computer software, it’s normally difficult to repair the damage; however, it’s not too late to buy anti-virus software as it may still be able to remove it. The term ‘anti-virus software’ (also referred to as simply ‘AV’) is used to describe a computer program that protects a computer from malware.
The use of it is essential for keeping your computer safe from malicious software. It works by scanning computer files and comparing the coding patterns it finds to the coding patterns of known malicious software; if it finds files with the same coding pattern as a piece of known malicious software then it alerts you.
On finding an infection, it will try to remove the malicious coding from the file and leave it in working order (in most cases this is possible); however, if the malicious coding can’t be removed from a file, the file will either be quarantined (meaning it can’t infect any other files) or deleted.
Free anti-virus products allow you to scan your hard disk, CDs, USB flash drives, and any files you download from the internet, for malware, and to delete any that it finds; ‘AVG’ and ‘Avast’ are considered to be the best available. Commercial anti-virus products additionally include: automatic update functions; scheduled scans; integration with web browsers and email. The various paid for anti-virus products available include: Bit Defender; ESET; Kaspersky; McAfee; Norton. It’s recommended that you have specialist software (working alongside standard anti-virus software) to prevent and delete adware and spyware; ‘Ad-Aware’ and ‘Spybot’ are considered to be the best available.
Links
www.microsoft.com : Comprehensive anti-virus information. Computer security advice and tips.
www.viruslist.com : Malware encyclopedia. Glossary. News and alerts.
www.antivirus.about.com : Malware prevention. Malware removal. How-to guides.
www.cnet.com : Anti-virus product reviews. Anti-virus downloads.