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Anti Spam And Anti Virus Software Compared

27 Jun

Learn The Key Differences Between Anti Spam & Anti Virus Software With This Useful Guide.

Making a direct comparison between anti spam and anti virus programs can be difficult, with both protecting your PC in different ways. But, there is one recurrent theme that anti spam and anti virus programs have in common: They're both working to keep out information that is unwanted.

Looking at the differences between spam and virus threats will help you to understand what kinds of software options you have. That way you can get more relevant protection for your PC.

What You Should Know About Spam

Spam is bloatware. It is the cyber equivalent of belly fat! It is unsolicited advertising and other junk e-mail that eats up a lot of bandwidth and disk space. Nobody wants it, and nobody asks for it.

But since the internet is public, everyone gets it. However, there are a number of excellent anti spam programs on the market that monitor, evaluate, filter, and block spam. Some are stand alone, like SpamBully or Spam Arrest, while others are complete suites like Advanced System Protector from Systweak. To get the best anti spam software be sure to check a few options out, both free and paid, and look for different reviews or trials.

What You Should Know About a Virus

A computer virus is a malicious infection that will affect your computer's performance and security. Like a dysfunctional family it has many relatives. Some of their names are:

Spyware
Malware
Trojan horse
Adware
Worm
Rootkit
ID thief; and
Hacker

Some of these can appear to be completely harmless but hide malicious functions. They can reproduce themselves with some form of executable code and spread from one computer to another. Stay a step ahead of these threats by protecting yourself with security software, especially when it is an up-to-date, 2011 internet security option.

It is also important to remember to back up your data and/or set a restore point before installing new programs or running any system cleaners, as deleting necessary files will disable your computer. With infected websites and downloads more likely now than ever, it is also important before downloading files to make sure your virus scanner is updated and always scan a download or mail attachment before installing. That way you will get the most out of anti virus and anti spam software options.