What Differences Between Antivirus & Anti-Spyware?

While viruses and spyware both tend to be lumped into the category of "malware," or programs that do something to your computer against your will, they actually behave quite differently, and often require different programs to keep your computer safe from their malicious code.

Viruses: Viruses tend to be destructive in nature, but some attempt to take over computers for use in distributed attacks or as automatic spam senders.

Spyware: Spyware tends to be less obtrusive, since its goal is to track your computer use and personal information, reporting back to the author.

Detection: Antispyware and antivirus programs identify malware both through known program signatures and also through identifying malware behavior in unknown programs.

Removal: Viruses generally are not associated with beneficial programs, and so antivirus suites usually simply delete the offending programs. Spyware, however, is often bundled with other software, and so antispyware programs tend to remove the offending parts while leaving the original program intact. They can also strip out browser add-ons which monitor Internet use.

Maximum Security: While many antivirus and antispyware packages try to offer comprehensive coverage, it's best to run both types of software to keep your computer malware-free.