anti-malwareIn this day and age almost every person on the planet owns or works with a computer. The internet has made it a lot easier to do our shopping, banking, communication, everything. However, with the rise of this new way of life additional threats have appeared as well. Safety has always been a concern to people and while everything had a physical form it was easier, but now threats can come in many more forms and it’s harder to keep yourself safe from them.

When it comes to computers, threats come in the form of malware, also known as badware. This is a very broad term and the most popular types of malware are computer viruses, however, there are many more types out there you need to be safe against.

What is malware and where can you get it

First of all malware is any type of software program that can disrupt the normal functioning of a computer or make it do things that are not intended. For example viruses can make your computer slow or even crash them. For this, people have been installing one anti-virus or another, trying to be safe.

Nowadays, however, since most of our banking is done online and we keep sensitive information in the form of digital documents another thing is a bigger issue. Certain types of malware are designed to run inconspicuously and gather information. Whether it’s for advertising purposes, which is rather harmless, or for blackmail purposes this type of malware does not do the user any good. Big data is quite a big thing nowadays and it’s used for statistics or bought by large companies in order to target you with precise advertisement. This is why all the ads you see online seem to know you so well and be especially created for you.

The bad part about this type of malware is that it can be embedded in the source code of some legitimate software that you are actually using. Yes, even big companies do this in order to collect data. The piece of code is harmless in its own and does not disrupt normal functioning of the computer however it sends tons of data about the computer, user and network to the company. Nowadays with the rise of smartphones and other such devices, most apps contain such spyware code as well. That’s why a simple game will ask you for access your location, contact list and whatnot.

How to keep safe

As well as this software created to do harm to the computer and user there are other pieces of software created to block them. These are called anti-malware software and are designed to scan and recognize such activity and then get rid of it. Some of them are better and some of them have a broad spectrum, while others are specialized on a certain type of malware. However the case may be, anyone using a computer should have such software installed and here’s a good start with this Emsisoft Anti-Malware coupon

By Techwacky

Editor-in-Chef of TechWacky.com