What are the differences between spyware and viruses?
There are a few differences between the broader definition of spyware and viruses. The first main difference is that viruses intentionally harm or damage the computer by corrupting the normal performance of applications, operating systems or files. Spyware does not intentionally harm or damage the computer; however, spyware unintentionally slows down the computer or causes system crashes because of all the spyware programs running. The second difference is that viruses self-replicate and ultimately infect as many computers as possible as quickly as possible. Spyware does not self-replicate. The third difference is that spyware records personal information about a user, which can ultimately cause harm to that user. This is achieved through the installation of surreptitious applications that run unnoticed in the computer’s background. Viruses do not record personal information about a user.
Related Questions
- Some of the large Anti-Virus vendors are touting an inline solution for detecting spyware. What are the differences in the Intrusion solution and their solution?
- How come Norton Internet Security never finds any viruses on my pc. Yet Spyware Doctor does?
- Can spyware, viruses, or other types of malicious software be transferred?
