Typically, roughly 60% of my service calls include cleaning up some kind of malware. Whether it’s because updates have been ignored (you know, those pesky ones from Adobe, or Java, or Microsoft), browsers are outdated, extraneous toolbars have been installed, or someone’s been visiting nefarious Websites, one way or the other it’s a common refrain that I hear: “The computer is running really slowly….” or “I’m getting tons of popups” or the like. Once all the updates are installed, browsers cleaned and proper safe browsing habits have been reviewed, a majority of the time the computer is back in action and has gained a noticeable amount of speed. It’s usually at this point that someone asks me “what’s the difference between a virus and malware?”
It can be tricky to explain the difference, especially because nowadays the threat from other kinds of malware are far greater than an actual virus (which is, itself, a form of malware). I came across this article today from one of my favorite Websites, LifeHacker, which does a pretty decent job of explaining the difference between the two. Not only that, but the author is in agreement with me about the two protection tools I recommend deploying, since they are light on performance drags but heavy on effective protection (Avast Free Antivirus and Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware, although a newer tool, ADWCleaner, has earned a spot in my permanent toolbox as well). The article is written with the average layperson in mind, so it’s relatively easy to understand. If you’re curious at all about these constant threats we face, I urge you to check it out.