IT Security: Malware: Wading Through the Jargon - Internet Security: IT Security

Are you at a loss or intimidated by the complexity of computer security and viruses?

By Kevin J. Vella, Uniblue Systems Ltd

Knowing the jargon is the first step to protecting your data and your computer system so that you can concentrate on more important work or play. This is the definitive guide to all you need to know about malicious code.

Malware (malicious code) has been with us since 1981. One of the earliest prophetic examples, however, of the susbstantial damage that viruses could (and would) generate was recorded in 1987 when a large network (ARPANET) used by universities and the US government was infected and disrupted by a virus.

Robert Morris, son of a computer security expert for the National Security Agency, sent malicious code through ARPANET, affecting about 10% of the connected computer hosts. The code reproduced itself and filtered through network computers; consequently, the size of the files filled computers' memories, thus disabling numerous machines.

Today 90% of computers with an Internet connection are infected by viruses, Trojans, worms, spyware and adware. But what are these? What do they do exactly? What are the risks to you and to everyone else? What can non-tech users do to learn the jargon and be armed with critical information to beat the odds and keep their computers as clean as possible?

This article is the definitive guide to learning the types of threats, their consequences and how you can combat them.

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