

It’s a standalone piece of malware that doesn’t need any extra assistance to run. Some malware begins working as soon as it reaches a new victim, with no user input required. The term “virus” is frequently used to refer to all types of unwanted or dangerous software, aka malware.īut malware can actually be split into three distinct categories: viruses, worms and Trojans. And boy, there are plenty of them! Viruses vs. Just as the flu virus causes fever, chills, aches and cough when it infects a new host, a computer virus can wreak havoc on each device it infects.Įxactly what damage depends on the type of malware. The malware does the rest - spreading, damaging and corrupting as it goes. But after its creation, malware spreads to different computers in the form of a file or files.Īll the malware’s creator has to do is kick back and wait for the data to flow in.

Initially, malware is created by a malicious programmer intending to annoy, monitor or steal from unsuspecting users. Its contagious nature means that it can spread from host to host, causing all kinds of ill effects along the way.Ī computer virus, also known as malware, behaves very similarly. In real life, a virus is a tiny organism that resides in other, larger organisms like people and animals. Lookout Personal for iOS (Free, $29.99/year or $99.99/year).Kaspersky Internet Security for Android ($11.99/year).AVG Antivirus for Android (Free or $14.99/year).The Best Antivirus Software for Android.Avast Security for Mac (Free or $59.99.year).Intego Mac Internet Security X9 ($39.99/year).Trend Micro Antivirus+ Security ($29.95/year).The Best Antivirus Software for Windows.What Is the Best Antivirus Software for Each OS?.
