Tech Term: Malware

Malware is the generic term for all of the bad or "malicious software" that exists. It includes some of the more generally used terms (viruses, spyware, worms, trojans, etc) as well as a number of different categories the average user hasn't heard about. So while every virus is a type of malware, not every pit of malware is a virus.

None of the malware out there is something you want on your computer, but all malware isn't created equal, and some of it poses a far more serious threat than others. Knowing and understanding the differences between different types of malware will help make your network (and your data) more secure.

The first step in protecting your computers from malware is to have a reliable antivirus product that is also capable of catching most types of spyware/adware. InfinIT recommends the managed antivirus that comes with our basic monitoring agreements, but has also had good success with Vipre antivirus (for-fee) and Microsoft Security Essentials (free). A great many other antiviru