Virus, Malware and Spyware - What is the difference?

[ladyloner08221984]

We have already encountered these three words and they are said to be dangerous or harmful to computer? Can you differentiate the three and tell me which is the most harmful?

[capooo]

i cant differentiate them but all what i know that they are dangerous

[diable123]

thanks for this caution man

[mosaab]

I know they are harmful that's all

[Hunter000]

virus is a script program which can do damage to your files, some can be recover, some can't.

spyware is a software program which allows the author and his team to look what had you done, even passwords and so.

malware is a general name for those software, scripts or programs which can harm your computer or cause some damage to the user.

those are the difference.

[zhwbeast]

I do not know the difference between them, and in my opinion they have same affect on our PC.

[dadido]

*Viruses may be defined as acellular organisms whose genomes consist of nucleic acid, and which obligately replicate inside host cells using host metabolic machinery and ribosomes to form a pool of components which assemble into particles called VIRIONS, which serve to protect the genome and to transfer it to other cells.

They are distinct from other so-called VIRUS-LIKE AGENTS such as VIROIDS and PLASMIDS and PRIONS

*MALWARE:
Malware is software designed to infiltrate or damage a computer system without the owner's informed consent. It is a portmanteau of the words "malicious" and "software". The expression is a general term used by computer professionals to mean a variety of forms of hostile, intrusive, or annoying software or program code.

Many normal computer users are however still unfamiliar with the term, and most never use it. Instead, "computer virus" is used in common parlance and often in the general media to describe all kinds of malware, though not all malware are viruses. Another term that has been recently coined for malware is badware, perhaps due to the anti-malware initiative Stopbadware.

Software is considered malware based on the perceived intent of the creator rather than any particular features. It includes computer viruses, worms, trojan horses, most rootkits, spyware, dishonest adware, and other malicious and unwanted software. In law, malware is sometimes known as a computer contaminant, for instance in the legal codes of California, West Virginia, and several other American states.

*ADWARE:
Adware or advertising-supported software is any software package which automatically plays, displays, or downloads advertising material to a computer after the software is installed on it or while the application is being used. Some types of adware are also spyware and can be classified as privacy-invasive software.

[moorafun]

i wanna thank the moderators for information he gave

[sniksolid]

virus is a script program which can do damage to your files, some can be recover, some can't.

spyware is a software program which allows the author and his team to look what had you done, even passwords and so.

malware is a general name for those software, scripts or programs which can harm your computer or cause some damage to the user.

those are the difference.

thx man great work

[viraflea]

malware can contain a virus... spyware is a software programmed for spying someone pc...

it think spyware is more dangerous than malware...