Mary Bernklau's List: Malware

Malware” is short for “malicious software” - computer programs designed to infiltrate and damage computers without the users consent. “Malware” is the general term covering all the different types of threats to your computer safety such as viruses, spyware, worms, trojans, rootkits and so on.

The story of malware
Virus creators, or “virus writers”, started off writing viruses in the early 1980’s. Until the late 1990’s most of the viruses were just pranks made up in order to annoy users and to see how far a virus could spread. The writers were often young programmers, some still in their teens, who didn’t always understand the vast consequences of their actions.
In the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, virus writers and hackers began to put their talents to more professional and sometimes criminal use. The internet had become everyone’s tool for information and businesses and banks were beginning to use it for commerce and transactions. As practical as online shopping and banking are, they also opened a world of opportunities for economic exploitation of both corporations and the ordinary computer user.  
Today many experts believe the amount of malicious software being released on the web might actually surpass the release of valid software.

Definition: Malware, a shortened combination of the words malicious and software, is a catch-all term for all sorts of software designed with malicious intent.  

The term malware is generally understood to include viruses, worms, spyware, Trojan horses, many kinds of adware, and other malicious programs.

  

You can learn more about malware at the About.com Antivirus Software site.

A: Let us take the easy one first. "Malware" is short for malicious software and is typically used as a catch-all term to refer to any software designed to cause damage to a single computer, server, or computer network, whether it's a virus, spyware, et al.