Today we're going to talk about two threats that are quite similar, but which tend to be confused. Let's start with the definitions:
Definition of malware
The term malware comes from the English contraction of Malicious Software. This word covers several types of malicious software, including:
- Viruses (see definition below)
- Worms: programs that spread through the computer network without the need for human intervention
- Trojan horses: software that masquerades as legitimate programs, but contains code designed to infect the devices running them
- Ransomware: Software that encrypts files on a device and demands a ransom to decrypt them.
- Spyware: Software that collects information about users, such as saved passwords, keyboard entries, or screen displays.
- Adware: Software that displays intrusive advertisements, often everywhere on the workstation
Malware is, in short, a category encompassing all programs that are harmful to a computer.
Definition of virus
As we saw earlier, viruses are a category of malware. They are malicious programs that aim to attach themselves to programs and files, infecting them. Thus, as soon as the program or file is executed by the computer, it aims to infect other files, corrupt data, and possibly delete files.
The most common way a virus infection occurs is through email attachments, but it's not limited to that. A user may have a USB drive containing an infected file and open it from a clean workstation. This leaves the system and any accessible network drives infected and at risk.
In any case, the virus activates and spreads only when there is human action. This means that an infected file is not dangerous until it is opened or executed.
Why have antimalware and antivirus
The reason is simple: antivirus will be more effective than antimalware in detecting and removing viruses in files, but will not find spyware, for example (it specializes in a specific category).
Conversely, antimalware will be more effective at detecting other types of unwanted files such as spyware and ransomware, but depending on the protections, they will not handle viruses because it is a large category, and is often covered by antiviruses. You should therefore read the documentation of the desired or used product to find out if the antimalware also analyzes viruses (and also the malware it treats), or if it is necessary to install an antivirus in addition.
