Question by Farrakh: In terms of computers What is difference between Spy-ware, malware, adware, cookies, virus worm and trojans?
Best answer:
Answer by lucee
Spyware, adware, malware, worms and trojans are bits of malicious code that get into your computer. Some are harmless, many are not. They can cause your computer to do some strange things.
Cookies are also bit of code that let websites you visit know what your shopping and surfing preferences are. Cookies are generally harmless.
Viruses can really do the most damage, by infecting your computer to the point of shutting it down.
Add your own answer in the comments!
Spyware is computer software that collects personal information about users without their informed consent.
Malware or malicious software is software designed to infiltrate or damage a computer system without the owner’s informed consent.
Adware or advertising-supported software is any software package which automatically plays, displays, or downloads advertising material to a computer after the software is installed on it or while the application is being used.
HTTP cookies, sometimes known as web cookies or just cookies, are parcels of text sent by a server to a web browser and then sent back unchanged by the browser each time it accesses that server. HTTP cookies are used for authenticating, tracking, and maintaining specific information about users, such as site preferences and the contents of their electronic shopping carts.
a computer worm is a self-replicating computer program. It uses a network to send copies of itself to other nodes (computer terminals on the network) and it may do so without any user intervention. Unlike a virus, it does not need to attach itself to an existing program. Worms always harm the network (if only by consuming bandwidth), whereas viruses always infect or corrupt files on a targeted computer.
In the context of computer software, a Trojan horse is a program that contains or installs a malicious program (sometimes called the payload or ‘trojan’). The term is derived from the classical myth of the Trojan Horse. Trojan horses may appear to be useful or interesting programs (or at the very least harmless) to an unsuspecting user, but are actually harmful when executed
Spyware = any program that spies on you or your computer and reports back to a server.
Malware = any program that you don’t want on your computer that was put there without your intention (viruses, worms, spyware, trojans, etc.)
Adware = any program designed to give you ads, pop up or otherwise
Cookies = a small text file that your browser puts on your computer when you visit some sites. They are usually harmless and are used, for example, to store your login information for a website. Some cookies are for ad sites, and those are the ones you don’t necessarily want
Virus = malicious code that hides in an executable or other type of file and does something when that program is run
Worm = malicious code that spreads through the internet, sometimes through email, and sometimes by exploiting vulnerabilities in unpatched operating systems
Trojan = malicious code embedded in a file that you think is good. The term ‘trojan’ refers to the famous Trojan Horse. You are tricked into running a program named ‘Kazaa_installer.exe’ and it turns out to be a worm.
Spyware are programs that are meant to spy on your surfing habits and send the information back to the company that created it.
Malware are programs that do harm to your system or leave you vulnerable to attack such as Virus, Worms, and Trojans.
Cookies are small packets of information that are stored in In your web browser’s history that websites can access to see if you’ve logged in. Unfortunately these can also be used to see what websites you have visited.
A virus is a malicious program that attacks files on your computer. A worm is a malicious program that attacks files on your computer and also embeds itself into your program files and can also spread itself by embedding into your outgoing emails and infecting the recipiant. A trojan is a malicious program that infects your computer and leaves a back door open for hackers to access your system. Often trojans will email the hacker with your IP address after infecting your PC.
They all are created in different ways and for different purposes. spyware is usually dedicated to steal information and send it to someone; malware is malicious software which installs itself into computer without your knowledge and does a harm; adware is dedicated to show unwanted advertisements, usually with annoying pop-ups. It’s difficult to explain differences in a few words, but here’s encyclopedia of various computer parasites and there are descriptions of various types of parasites:
http://www.2-spyware.com/parasites.php