Malware, Viruse and Worms - Do You Want To Just Give Your Identity and Your Money Away?

Malware is short for malicious software, or something that's designed to do harm. There are three kinds of malware - viruses, Trojans and worms. Worms are the most damaging kind of malware because only worms are automated and designed to spread very quickly across any network they infect.

Like viruses, worms replicate themselves - this basically means they reproduce. Unlike viruses, however, worms are completely self-contained. While viruses need a 'host program' to spread, worms can spread on their own so this makes them very dangerous.

Even though worms can be designed to create the same kind of problems that viruses can (for example, file deletion, corruption of the program etc.), worms usually affect whole computer networks. Because networks operate by means of servers and routers, worms can do much more damage.

Servers aren't massively different to your typical personal computer except they operate at far higher speed and provide massive amounts of storage and resources for the end users. Routers are like specialized servers and they help to route network traffic from one computer to another. The server then operates with the router, to help the other systems by making various resources available to multiple users at once.

Routers use memory and processor time, and worms, like viruses, can overload the routers causing them to become unstable or to slow down. Worms are released into the network and they self-replicate, which is where the problems begin. While viruses don't have to delete programs or files to do harm they usually can cause the central processing unit or CPU, to be busy all the time. That means no other resources are available for other programs or other users and whatever job the server was doing grinds to a halt.

Worms, though, carry 'payloads'. Some of these payload options include malware such as spyware or backdoor installation programs. Spyware monitors your activities on the computer and they can be exploited by hackers to steal data from your computer or to send spam.

For individual computer users, the biggest threat is the worm's payload. Payloads can be designed to be dangerous and harmful to the computers and networks they wind up infecting. They can work around computer security by turning off antivirus programs or by opening up various computer data ports. Because ports are used by the network to move data in and out, opening up these computer ports leaves the computer open to data thefts or other malicious acts like the deletion of files.

If you want to avoid worms, you can install a firewall, which are fairly effective in protecting your computer against worms. They can help to protect your computer and to restrict network traffic. If your computer is protected, or 'cloaked', it can't be seen and therefore infected by worms which can spread over your network.

But worms can also be distributed through e-mail, see you should always be careful when opening e-mail from people you don't know or from addresses that you don't recognize. If someone sends an unexpected file attachment you should check with them first before opening the file to make sure that they meant to send you that file in the first place. This might seem like overkill and being too cautious but it's much easier to prevent a worm infection than it is to clean one up.

If you believe your computer has become infected with a worm, you can use antivirus software to scan your system and remove the threat. If your antivirus software fails to remove the worm you can usually find instructions on the Internet (usually anti-virus manufacturers) for how to remove it manually. There's no need to freak out - removing most worms manually isn't really that difficult.

Are you running a computer without proper anti-virus protection? Do you have any idea just how dangerous that can be? Do yourself a favour and get some proper A HREF="http://www.cpusecurity.com/virus/">virus protection software today - you'll sleep better at night believe me. You can learn more about computer viruses here -> A HREF="http://www.cpusecurity.com">www.CPUSecurity.com