Difference: Antivirus and AntiSpyware

There are enough malware and internet vermin out there to destroy your PC and gather your PC’s information without your knowledge. There are tons of malware such as a virus, spyware, Trojan horse, worm etc which can easily infect your computer and affect its functionality. Malware are endless, so are the software and programs that help us get rid of them. Be it viruses, or be it spyware, there are numerous programs out there in the market for every kind of malware. But, often people get confused between antivirus and AntiSpyware. Today, in this article, we’ll clear up the confusion by making you understand the difference between antivirus and spyware.

What Exactly are Antivirus and AntiSpyware

A computer virus is basically a code or a malicious program that gets loaded on your computer without your knowledge and replicates itself over and over again. Viruses are dangerous and can sometimes even leave your PC on halt. Trojans and worms are generally categorized in viruses, which actually they’re not meant to be. Trojans, worms, and viruses are all totally different and can affect your system in different ways. Trojan horse is a type of malware that basically breaks through the security of a system, whereas worms have the power to replicate themselves and spread across other computers through networks. To prevent such viruses enter and harm your PC, there is some special software developed that help in detecting the virus and removing it, and they’re named as antivirus.

Read:

• Difference: Antivirus and Antimalware Programs
• Difference: Antivirus and Internet Security

What is an Antivirus?

In simple words, an antivirus is a program or software that detects and destroys the computer viruses that intend to destroy your system.

How do They Work?

Antivirus programs basically detect the virus in the system by scanning for it and destroys it after it has been found. They do it by examining the files that are on the system and try to find out the pattern of the data which have been identified as a virus.

AntiSpyware

Now, coming to the second part i.e. AntiSpyware programs. Before coming to AntiSpyware, let us first understand what are spyware?

A spyware basically is a kind of malware that gets installed on the system and affects it negatively. It can lower your PC’s performance as well as harm the security of your system.

To get rid of such unwanted spyware getting installed, AntiSpyware programs are used. An AntiSpyware program is a program that detects and removes the unwanted spyware that have been installed in your system without your knowledge. It basically monitors the behavior of your PC and if finds it spyware related, changes or removes it.

Conclusion

With the endless malware getting developed each and every single day, the need for software such as Antivirus and AntiSpyware has been created. They’re the backbone of a system. If these programs wouldn’t have been there, the security of the system would have been broken through easily.