The variants of computer malware are wide-ranging, from viruses that are mere nuisances, to adware that displays a significant number of pop-up advertisements, to Spyware that steals your private information and potentially your identity, computer malware is a threat you can not take lightly! The amount of computer malware on the Internet increases daily and if you don’t take action to protect yourself, you might just be battling to regain your identity or buying a new computer in the near future! Six of the top computer malware threats you may come across online are:

1 – Win32.Vundo Trojan Virus, 2 – BaiduSadar, 3- Win32.FakeXPA Trojan, 4 – Barracuda Spyware, and 5 – Win32.Hotbar, 6 – Win32.GameVance.

Malware Threat#1 – Win32.Vundo Trojan Virus

The Vundo Trojan is also known as the MS Juan Virus and VirtuMonde. Once you’re computer is infected with Vundo, you will see a number of pop-up ads for fake anti-spyware programs, possibly have your computer used in a denial of service attack against Google, Facebook, and other big websites, and get infected by additional malware. Infection by Vundo will result in continued degradation of your computer’s performance if you do not take action to remove it. Normally, Vundo will infect your computer through an email attachment or through Internet Browser security holes.

Malware Threat #2 - BaiduSadar

Win32.Baidu Sadar is a browser modifier version of adware that installs a toolbar on your Web Browser. Once installed, the default search engine web pages on your computer will be changed to malicious web sites and you will see a large number of advertisements start to appear on your computer. Infection by BaiduSadar can also be indicative that you have other malware or spyware on your computer.

Malware Threat #3 - Win32/Fake XPA Trojan Virus

The FakeXPA Trojan Virus functions as both a Trojan Virus and Spyware hybrid malware program. FakeXPA will infect your computer with additional malware, send your information to remotely located hackers, and attempt to trick you into paying money to a fake-spyware company to remove viruses from your computer. FakeXPA also will display a fake dialogue box that looks similar to the WindowsSecurityCenter to further trick you into downloading additional malware.

Malware Threat #4 - Barracuda Spyware

Barracuda Spyware is also known as Antivirus System Pro, Spyware Protect 2009, Barracuda Antivirus, and Security Central. It is one of the more recent fake anti-spyware programs that are showing up on the Internet which trick the user into downloading their product to remove computer malware. Once downloaded, additional spyware and malware is spread to the user’s computer.

Spyware Threat #5 - Win32/Hotbar

The Hotbar adware infection will display advertisements on your computer that are based on your Web Browser’s history folder. The Hotbar toolbar will then display in the Internet Explorer Window as well on the Windows Explorer display. If you use the toolbar, additional advertisements will be displayed on your computer. Hotbar by itself is only considered Adware, but has the potential to be bundled with other computer malware and should be removed.

Malware Threat #6 – Win32.Game Vance

Game Vance Adware gets installed on your computer through user choice. In exchange for free games at the GameVance website, you agree to allow the company to display targeted advertisements on your computer through agreeing to a EULA. GameVance does send your private information (browsing history, advertisement records, etc) to remote servers without your permission and has the potential to be bundled with other computer malware.