Recently when I was having a small conversation with my roommate suddenly he asked me what is the difference between antivirus and anti-malware?
Seriously I had no clue at that time. I believe most of us don’t know the difference between antivirus and anti-malware.
So I thought of publishing an article on antivirus vs anti-malware.
Antivirus vs Anti-Malware
We all think virus and malware are different kinds of computer threats. But the thing is, malware is the root term.
All viruses, spyware, adware, worms and Trojans come under malware.
Malicious software which is shortly called Malware damages computer by multiplying threats or sending user information to third parties. It corrupts user information or blocks user from accessing particular software or PC.
A virus replicates itself and corrupts user data or software, or blocks user from using particular software or PC itself.
Adware — An adware is a type of malware that literally bullies you with more ads or popups generating income for the author.
Spyware — It is a suspicious software that collects data from the effected computer and sends it to the third party.
Trojan — Similar to spyware, Trojan horse sends sensitive data like login information or credit card details to the hackers by giving access to user computer. They in turn steal our money.
Also Read: https://technopo.com/download-wifi-hacker-for-pc-windows/
So How Does Malware Enter Our PC?
Whenever we are installing software you might see a dialog box asking you to try some other software. By installing that software you give access to potential threat.
In other cases we might receive a spam mail with a link to malware or you might receive malware as an attachment. When you click on the link or attachment, malware gets installed on your PC.
An antivirus protects pc from the most common virus threats alone or blocks the potential malicious software which activates the virus.
Whereas an anti-malware protects user from new kind of threats like adware, spyware or spamware.
Having said all, it is highly recommended to use both antivirus and anti-malware software. Thus your PC is protected from both viruses and the modern malware threats.
I hope now you understood the difference between antivirus and anti-malware and the basic difference between virus and malware itself.
So which antivirus or anti-malware you are running on your computer, let us know in the comments box below 🙂
