What Is Malware and How Does It Affect Your Computer?
Malware is any code-based entity that is intended to perform an unauthorized process that will have an adverse impact on the confidentiality, integrity or availability of a system. It can take many forms including viruses, worms, Trojan horses, spyware, some types of adware, rootkits and more. This category of malicious software is one of the most common and dangerous cyberattacks.
Malicious software can be incredibly complex and difficult to detect. Attackers can spread malware in a variety of ways including via emails, websites and apps. Most devices are infected by opening infected attachments or clicking on links found in emails, but some systems are infected by other means like using web browser vulnerabilities or exploiting software bugs.
Viruses are the most common type of malware and are designed to replicate themselves and affect multiple devices, largely inadvertently. Worms, which are similar to viruses but don’t require human interaction, can self-replicate between computer systems or from device to device by modifying other programs to infect them. Trojans are often disguised as useful programs and can be very dangerous. They can gather sensitive information, change settings and even spy on keyboard activity without the user’s knowledge.
Adware is another popular type of malware that generates revenue by throwing advertisements onto a screen, usually in the form of popups. More dangerous forms of adware can download additional malware, change web browser settings and use a computer’s resources to mine cryptocurrencies without the owner’s knowledge. Symptoms of malware include unusually slow operating system performance and excessive CPU or GPU usage. Infected systems can also be roped into a botnet that’s used to carry out DDoS attacks, spam or snoop on private data.