Derived from the words "malicious" and "software", malware is a type of program designed to steal information or cause internal damage to a computer. A lot of people confuse malware as a type of virus, when in fact malware is any kind of software that is intended by the developer to cause harm within another system or exploit other people's personal information. On the other hand, a computer virus is a small software that is purposely designed to spread from one computer to another and interfere with various computer operations. In other words, harmful software such as viruses, Trojan horses, spyware, and worms are categorized as malware and are generally harmful to any computer unit or even to the user if not taken cared of once malware infection signs are evident.
The threats of computer virus infections have increased in parallel to the number of internet users all over the world today. Unlike in the '90s where malware were only regarded as the result of experimentations and pranks by curious developers trying to expand their skills, malware today keeps evolving as a medium to wreak havoc and cause crimes in the cyber world. Compared to over a century ago where computers were yet to be introduced to households and access to the internet was limited, the spread of computer viruses today have become instantaneously rampant due to quick technological evolution - more and more tasks now require the use of technology while the internet has played a significantly important role in information sharing.
