There are certain terms in the computer world that when we hear them cause us all kinds of rejection. Precisely two of them are the ones that we want to talk to you about in these same lines. We refer to two elements closely related to the world of security and privacy , viruses and malware.
It should be noted that both the aforementioned security and the privacy of our data on current devices are elementary. The main reason for all this is that we are increasingly working with more sensitive and personal information on our computers. Hence precisely that we do not want them to fall into the wrong hands under any circumstances.
While the different security companies in charge of protecting us with their antivirus programs do not stop working on their projects, the same happens with the attackers. They use the latest techniques to try to access our equipment and at the same time everything stored in it. However, when we refer to these security issues, first of all, we must be clear about what we are facing. And it is that sometimes we receive messages or read news related to this topic that can lead us to confusion.
In fact, below, we want to show you the main differences between the two mentioned terms: virus and malware . This is because many people still confuse and mix this terminology, when their difference is palpable. Thus, knowing in reality what we are facing in each case will help us to protect ourselves in a more effective way. In addition, knowing some terms more precisely, we will have the possibility to choose the security solution that interests us the most.
What is malware and why is it not the same as a virus
The two terms on which we will focus below serve as a clear example of this. On many occasions, both elements belonging to the world of security tend to be confused. However, the difference between the two is quite clear and important. In fact, there are still many who use both extremes as if they were without, but let’s see their differences.
The first thing to keep in mind is that when we talk about malware , we are referring to a generic term referring to malicious code . This means that for many years now, our PC can be infected by a multitude of types of malware. Here we can add the popular ransomware, spyware, adware, etc. Therefore, when we talk about these elements, we refer to a generic attack without specifying the specific format.
On the other hand, we find the popular viruses , which are actually nothing more than a specific type of malware . Due to all that has been said, we could say that all viruses are malware, but not all malware is a virus . As a curiosity, we could say that one of the synonyms that could be used to define malware is malicious code. This is a term that is also used generically without specifying the format to which we refer.
