Can someone clarify this for me?

[Chams]

I keep seeing around the net sites reffering "malware & spyware". Other sites just use "malware" to encompass both. Which is correct? Is spyware seperate from malware or is it all in the same?

 

[fluxion]

malware is a term for malicious software, spyware is usually just annoying software installed for the purposes of marketing or theft..which might also be viewed as a malicious purpose and lumped together with malware, but i think it's more accurate to keep them seperate.

 

[Pyrolistical]

Then what is some malicious software that is not considered spyware?

 

[fluxion]

Then what is some malicious software that is not considered spyware?

a program that subversively formats your hard drive, for instance

 

[Malogato]

Then what is some malicious software that is not considered spyware?

Crapware (poorly written software that you should never install)
Nagware
Viruses
Trojans

Mal = latin for "Bad"

Some would argue that "bloat"ware should be included in the list..
I consider any product from real-networks to be malware.
but that's an opinion.

 

[Ice Czar]

spyware shades from the annoying to the malicious these days
the more serious versions w\ both rootkits, trojans and keyloggers

its all about money and the adware \ spyware business is huge (think billions of dollars), any and all means to make that money are employed, the traditional threat vector of email and old school worms\viruses was preschool and didnt generate the income that adware spyware and extortion (with infected bot nets launching distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks on commercial sites) that is the current model of the more malicious income generation

the current major threat vectors are your browser and malformed code (exploits of active X and javascript) and IM

not that anyway they can manage to drop a blended threat to bot your box isnt employed
email is still a major vector with all the idiots out there clicking on attachements and not running AVs

then there are the direct exploits

Web of Crime Series

the objective is no longer malicious damage to your box, in fact they would perfer you not notice them at all, its basically two classes, infection to get you to click through (ads ect) and infection to steal from you directly, barring that to employ your box to extort from others, sometimes its one and the same