Many people may wonder what the difference is between viruses and spyware and what they can do. To help you understand, here are some explanation from Wikipedia:
“A computer virus is a computer program that can copy itself and infect a computer without the permission or knowledge of the owner. The term “virus” is also commonly but erroneously used to refer to other types of malware, adware and spyware programs that do not have the reproductive ability.”
“While the term spyware suggests software that secretly monitors the user’s behavior, the functions of spyware extend well beyond simple monitoring. Spyware programs can collect various types of personal information, such as Internet surfing habits, sites that have been visited, but can also interfere with user control of the computer in other ways, such as installing additional software, and redirecting Web browser activity. Spyware is known to change computer settings, resulting in slow connection speeds, different home pages, and/or loss of Internet or functionality of other programs.”
So, nowadays there is more spyware out there than there are viruses which makes it more likely that your computer will be infected with spyware than viruses. When you are buying software for this, you will find that some consist of an entire suite. You don’t really need all the extra stuff that comes with this software. The antivirus and spyware only should be enough protection, not to mention it will cost you less and create less “bloat” on your computer. In addition to having this software, you should have a router on your internet connection. The reason is that almost all routers include a firewall which protects you from viruses coming through your internet connection. Remember, you can still get infected even if you are not surfing the web or downloading anything. Just being connected to the internet alone involves some risk. The firewall on a router will help protect you from this. I recommend a product called Webroot Spysweeper which is a spyware blocker and remover. Webroot also offers an antivirus which comes with a commercial grade antivirus scanner and for usually 10 dollars more you can put it on up to three computers. I recently put this product on a clients computer and it found 357 viruses and spyware combined and it removed all of them. For spyware on Windows Vista there is Windows Defender which can also be downloaded for free on Windows XP. This can run along side commercial grade software for extra protection.
For Mac users, there are viruses but there are a lot fewer and for a mac to get infected you have to give it your username and password. To secure a mac, I would do the following: create an administrator account that will only we used to install software and updates and create and limited user account for everyday use. Only trust software that you know is legitimate and legal and avoid downloading illegal software because there have been some known cases of infection. If you are really paranoid and want to run an antivirus VirusBarrierX5 (Commerical) or iAntiVirus (Free for Home Use).
So how do you keep your computers virus and spyware free?
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