How to Remove Malware From Your Computer
Posted on June 19th, 2008 in spyware | No Comments »
Click here to read our review of the best anti spyware programs!
What is malware? And how does malware infect your computer? Malware is software which is designed to infiltrate or damage a computer without the owners consent. The word malware is made out of the words malicious and software. Malware also is a general term used by computer professionals to mean a variety of forms of hostile, intrusive, or annoying software or program code.
Why would anybody want to infect another computer with this kind of software? Well malware can be used to install so called keylogging programs. These programs spy on you and collect username and passwords to websites and other interesting programs. For instance they could collect you username/password to your online banking account. This information will later be used to buy stuff on your expence. Also very interesting information would be creditcard information. Some malware wants to take over your PC without you knowing turning it into a “zombie”. A zombie is a computer which receaves commands remotely and executes these commands. For instance if the attacker has several zombies he could send spam email via the infected computers.
How can you get infected with malware? You can install malware accidentally when visiting a website. They will give you a pop up message asking you to upgrade your browser of upgrade a certain plugin. When you click on the yes button the software gets installed on your PC. Another way of getting it would be by installing software you received via email. Or even by installing what seems to be “genuine” software but this will also install the malware.
How can I prevent from being infected with malware or other software like spyware. First of all never install software from dubious sources. If you get a message from a website that you must install software to update a part of your system do not trust these messages. Update your system with the Microsoft updates website or by using the automatic updates function. Its very important to keep your computer up to date with the latest software updates. Not only to get new features but also because bugs are found all the time and fixed regularly. By not updating your PC software especially the so called “operating system” like “Windows XP” or “Windows Vista” your chances to get infected are higher than patched systems.
How can I find out if I am infected? The only way to check if you are already infected is by running anti-malware checker programs. These programs check your PC files against a database of known infections. After finding the infection they will delete or deactivate the infection. It is important to do this regularly especially if you are a power user of the internet.
Click here to read our review of the best anti spyware programs!
