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Computer viruses seem to be all the same. They are just not something that you want in your computer. Point blank. And while they may all sound the same (malware, spyware, adware, etc), they're not.

Malware is a cute word. But it actually stands for malicious software. Kind of makes you rethink the cuteness. At least it did for me. It's a computer virus software that is designed to do a number of harmful things to your computer. Gather information, disrupt your computer's operation, gain access to your computer system, even thought you didn't give it the okay to do so.

It is in it to capture and release any information it can get a hold of.  Think of it as one of those burglars that like to snoop through your trash that you have sitting out by the curb. Still on your property and you certainly don't want them out there, but they go through and look for invoices and bills, in hopes of gathering your personal information, and when they get their hands on something, well - then it's not very good.

Malware isn't just a computer virus. It is also made up of worms, spyware, most rootkits, trojan horses and other computer virus programs. Or, worse yet, malware can disguise itself as genuine software and may actually come from an official site.

I was reading up on how to get rid of this computer virus, and the site informed all readers that the best way to get rid of malware is to not let it get into your computer. Well, duh. But it happens.

First, you'd want to back up your data, as you should do whenever you are making changes to your computer, or messing around with the system.  You would then start up your virus scanner to get rid of the computer virus. If you don't have one, there are plenty for you to choose from. I'd go for a fully free one, if there is such a thing, because the trial programs always seem to cause a headache. Make sure to read reviews - some free programs are hard to delete. They are put there to delete something that you don;t want in the first place - which means they know how it's kept there to stay there. Do your homework. Next comes the spyware detection program. Once again, read reviews.

Keep a look out for downloading files that you don't recognize. Attached to it may be a Trojan horse, the invite. It might be concealing a malicious payload. As you install a new program, you would also be installing the Trojan horse into your computer. They are commonly used for marketing and are capable of taking complete control over a Web browser and can modify the computer's Windows Registry.

As the Trojan horse takes over the computer and does it's damage, it needs a cover-up, someone to keep look out. This is where rootkits come in. They modify the host's operating system so the computer virus is hidden from the user. Rootkits can prevent a malicious process from being visible in the system's list of processes, or keep its files from being read.