Viruses in computer terminology refers to programs written by ill-meaning individuals which aims to attack a computer. A virus reproduces itself and attaches itself to computer storage in a sneaky manner. Viruses are often hard to detect by the ordinary computer user and many people have no idea their machines are infected until they see the devastating effects: sluggishness, lockups, freezes, shut downs and outright crashes.
Spyware are computer programs which are subtly downloaded onto your computer while you think you are doing something else. The job of spyware programs is to monitor your computer activities and report the findings to the crooks behind them. Consequently, high tech thieves have been able to monitor every keystroke on the computers of unsuspecting victims whose computer they have infected with their spyware program. This way, the crooks were able to steal people’s credit card information, identity, and other personal data.
Then there are the good guys: people who have dedicated their lives to fighting these malicious programs. Consequently, there are some really great software programs out there which are able to detect viruses quickly and take the required action against them. That is, wipe them off your machine. There are quite a number of good antivirus and anti-spyware software programs out there, delivering high quality services in keeping your computer free of infectious and “deadly” computer viruses.
Many antivirus software programs also come with built in “anti-spyware” features: that is, the ability to not just detect and clean out viruses, but spyware programs as well.
Here are some of the antivirus programs recommended by Patrick Carpen. Most of them come with a free trial program so you can try and see what works best for you. Others are free with the option to upgrade for additional features.
Avast Antivirus Software
Norton