Virus

Most people use these terms interchangeably or use Virus as a blanket term to describe any ailment their system(s) may be enduring. When the news reports on the latest “worm”, “Trojan”, “root kit” etc. the true category or definition of what that threat “is” could be a virus or spyware, but in most cases the catch all term malware can be used to cover something you don’t want or that has negative effects on your system(s). The primary differentiator for a virus can best be explained by the biology it refers to. A virus is designed to spread and infect other systems.

Malware and Spyware

Spyware and other forms of Malware are often restricted to the system(s) they encounter directly and are often not designed to spread to other systems. However, some spyware are also viruses in that they have malicious intent and are designed to spread. In either case, spyware is designed to harvest information from the infected system(s). This can be for advertising purposes, but is often far more serious. Keystroke loggers can be used to steal your log in and password information, account numbers, secret word reminders, etc.

There are many of these threats that masquerade as legitimate applications, alerts, warning messages, etc. Clicking on these alerts is usually all it takes to become infected. Some of the more bold and underhanded of these will take you to a site where you can BUY their software to “clean” or “protect” your computer. These “companies” will bill you for installing their malicious software, and you will have just handed them your billing information. Any time you see a new or suspicious alert or error message you should contact your system administrator before continuing. It is far more difficult to remove an infection than it is to avoid getting infected in the first place.

If you think or know your system is infected it is important to get it in to be looked at by professionals as soon as possible. Like any infection, the sooner you treat it the better off you’ll be. Here at FNI we are very experienced in removing these applications and cleaning systems back to a healthy state. It is not always a simple matter to deal with these infections on your own. Many malicious applications are designed to defend against attempts to be removed and can hide in places and ways most users don’t know how to counter.

Bloatware

The term “Bloatware” is often used for legitimate software that is unwanted but bundled with something else, or software that uses more resources than competing products to do the same job. New computers often come with applications installed that an end user may never have a use for. They use up system resources needlessly until removed manually and can often be security risks because they are not being maintained. Bloatware can cause harm to your system(s) accidently through hogging resources and making unnoticed holes in your security through neglect. We know how to get unused bloatware off your system(s) and can offer alternatives to applications that you need but are not making efficient use of your available resources.