What Is the Main Difference Between a Virus and a Trojan? How to Prevent It?

Introduction

In the age of computers and high technology information sharing, no computer system is safe from threats. This is why all computer users need to be aware of the different kinds of risks that they may encounter on their policies so that they can prevent their personal information from being compromised or their entire systems from crashing.

What is a Virus?

A computer virus is a small program, which is written in such a way to alter the system of the computer operation without the knowledge or the permission of the user. A virus has two features:

1. It executes itself, and it places its code very often for the execution of another program.
2. It replicates itself in such a way that it may replace some executable files along with a copy of the infected virus file. A virus can infect network servers as well as desktop computers alike.

There are certain types of viruses that are harmful and damaging for the computer system as it deletes files, damages programs, or even reformats the hard disk. There may be other types of viruses, which may not do any particular damage but merely replicate itself and make their presence known by presenting video, audio, or text messages. These are generally benign viruses, but even they can create problems for the user.

These illegitimate programs take up a lot of computer memory, which sometimes results in erratic computer behavior, which can also result in a system crash. Often, these viruses are bug-ridden as well, which means there are computer bugs that can lead to data loss and system crash. There are generally five common and recognized types of viruses, which are:

• File Infector Virus
• Best Sector Virus
• Master Boot Record Virus
• Multipartite Virus
• Macro Virus

What is Trojan?

A Trojan is a program that runs by deceiving the computer user into thinking it is something desirable or legitimate, but it has malicious intent. Trojan horses are like imposters, which look like genuine applications but are destructive. Unlike viruses, they do not replicate themselves. Still, they contain malicious code, and when it is triggered, it can cause loss or even theft of the user’s personal information and data. The malicious programs have to be invited on your computer by the user for the Trojan to spread. This can happen by opening an e-mail attachment. Some broad categories cover the Trojan programs, which include:

• Trojan Horse
• Trojan Gen and
• Trojan Gen 2

The Trojan horses give a backdoor entry to your computer system through which malicious programs or users can have access to your system and steal your personal or confidential information.

Comparison and Difference between the Virus and Trojan

The fundamental difference between a virus and a Trojan is that for a threat to your computer system to be called a virus, it has to replicate itself while the Trojan does not.

A computer virus damages your files and may crash your system while taking up your computer memory, and the Trojan horse is more like a backdoor entry to your computer system. Trojans, unlike viruses, do not replicate themselves but can steal your confidential information.

Tips on How to Prevent from Getting Infected by Virus and Trojan

To protect your computer system from getting a virus, you should ensure there is an updated antivirus application on your system and avoid getting files or attachments through your e-mail from unknown users or which do not seem right to you. You should pay special attention to the file names of the attachments. For example, for an mp3 file, if the file name is mp3.exe, this means you are dealing with an infected file.

When it comes to protection against Trojan horse on your computer, it is similar to how you would protect your computer against viruses – by installing antivirus applications on your computer and keeping it up to date. Moreover, any files or attachments which may seem suspicious to you, should not be opened (tip: always use a downloaded crack for Photoshop – which is malware author’s one of the most popular spots for hiding a Trojan).

Steps on How to Remove both Trojan and Virus

Trojan Removal

To remove the Trojan horse from your computer, you need to follow the steps mentioned below:

• First, you need to identify the virus from the infected file. Your system may give you a DLL error, and you can copy this error and find out about the file, which is infected.
• Now disable the system restore option, or else you may end up restoring the files, which you will delete.
• Then restart the computer and when it starts again, press F8 and then open the computer on Safe Mode.
• Now go to Add and Remove Programs section, which is in the control panel, and then remove the programs affected by the Trojan.
• Then remove all extensions and delete all possible program files, which is possible through the Windows System folder.

Once you have done the above, you can then restart your computer in normal mode, and your computer will be Trojan free.

Computer Virus Removal

The following steps are required to remove a computer virus from your windows.

• Download and install a virus scanner on your computer.
• Disconnect from the internet to avoid further damage.
• Now restart your system and open it on Safe Mode.
• Now you should delete any temporary files using the Disk Clean Up. This is possible through the windows icon on temporary files. When you find the temporary internet files in the files to delete section, click on delete files.
• Now run a virus scan with your chosen antivirus or internet security software.
• In case the virus is found, you should quarantine or delete the infected files to get rid of the virus. Then rescan your computer to make sure there are no more threats. In case more are found, quarantine or delete those files again.
• Now that the virus is gone, you can now restart your computer in the normal mode.

Final Words

The above is a basic summary of the difference between two common computer threats, which many users face regularly. All users must know how to protect their systems so they can recognize any outside threat on their computers and adopt preventive measures to ensure their systems are working alright, and their data is not compromised.