Defining "Malware"
As previously stated, malware is a very broad, catch-all term. Microsoft TechNet defines malware as "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." This definition is certainly true. The term, "malware," is derived from the words "malicious" and "software." But Microsoft's definition of this software epitomizes some of the problems people have clarifying what malware truly is.
First, the Microsoft definition we have been analyzing uses the phrase "designed to cause damage." This is not intrinsically true in defining malware. Spyware, for example, is a form of malware designed to surreptitiously record data about what sites you visit on the internet or other information on how you use your computer. The premise of spyware is not to "damage" anything, but to gather information for marketing purposes.
Second, Microsoft's definition ends in "et al." The fact is, the term "malware" creats a very gray area. Many define "malware" not only as viruses and spyware, but also worms, trojan horses, adware, botnets, loggers, dialers, and rootkits.
Further, there is a gray area as to what constitutes malware. While America Online is seen as a company that creates legitimate software, some contend that the files that AOL leaves behind even after being uninstalled, the anti-virus and anti-spyware programs that are installed without notice, and the system changes made are all characteristics of malware. Read more about these controversies.
Some contend that we still cannot properly or completely define malware. For our purposes, however, it is sufficient to define malware as "malicious software." The next step is determining how malware affects us each day and what we can do to prevent our computers from being overrun with this destructive software.
Resources
Moir, Robert. "Defining Malware: FAQ." October 1, 2003. <http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/alerts/info/malware.mspx>
"Malware." Wikipedia. Accessed April 15, 2007. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malware>.
"Malware." Tech Terms. Accessed April 15, 2007. <http://www.techterms.org/definition/malware>
"Malware Definition." Linux Information Project (LINFO). February 5, 2006. <http://www.bellevuelinux.org/malware.html>
Nance, Barry. "Still no 'malware' definition." Network World. September 18, 2006. <http://www.networkworld.com/reviews/2006/091806-antispyware-test-definition.html>.
"What is malware?" Tech FAQ. Accessed April 15, 2007. <http://www.tech-faq.com/malware.shtml>
Baratz, Adam & McLaughlin, Charles. "Malware: what it is and how to prevent it." Ars Technia. November 11, 2004. <http://arstechnica.com/articles/paedia/malware.ars/>