What is antivirus anti-spyware anti-malware software

On the internet you see ads for Norton Antivirus, Norton 360, NOD32, Kaspersky, etc but just what is it, what does it do, and why do I need it?

Antivirus software is software on your computer that will scan, and remove virus's. Computer virus's like virus's in the real world cause a great deal of damage if left unnoticed. They can delete files, damage files, move them, rename them, or just overload your system with useless pop-ups, warning screens, etc.

You need antivirus software to make sure that your computer does not get "attacked", and damaged by them. Antivirus software can be free or paid. They all do the same job, but can be different.

A comparison between free and paid antivirus software is here.

Anti-spyware software will scan, and remove trojans, rootkits, and spyware that will track you on the web. Some overbearing anti-spyware software will remove "tracking cookies" (advertising cookies), but they do not need removal as they are not as bad as they seem. Trojans will hide in legitimate software (mostly software cracks, game cracks, and serial generators. (Read why they are bad here). They hide, and then when you think everything is fine will install spyware/adware software on your computer that will track your computer, record your passwords, spam your friends via IM/email, and just do no good. Rootkits are basically trojans on steroids in the sense that they are extremely hard to find, and remove.

Anti-malware software is software that combines anti-malware, anti-spyware, firewalls (read why firewalls are important here) all in one package. Most anti-malware software (like A-squared) is not-free so you have to pay for the convenience of a all in one package.

You need anti-virus/anti-spyware/anti-malware software to help make sure the software and sites you visit are legimate, and aren't doing anything fishy.

Note: Phishing protection is optional. Some software has it, most don't. To learn more about phishing attacks, and how to protect yourself against them read the article here.

Free antivirus/anti-spyware software is out there. I recommend Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) which is located here. MSE covers against all malicious software with pretty good results, and its lightweight.

Note: Anti-virus/anti-spyware/anti-malware software is only good when its frequently updated. Update at least daily to help ensure that your protected against the latest threats.

PS: Mac/Linux users are not protected. However Mac/Linux users at the time of this article are mostly safe (unlike windows users) because of the low amount of users who use it. When Mac/Linux becomes more popular more malware will be aimed towards them. So always keep up to date with the latest threats.