Malware or Virus? What's the Difference?

PC World has a short article written by Lincoln Spector that discusses the difference between malware and viruses at http://www.pcworld.com/article/2048261/understanding-tech-language-the-difference-between-malware-and-a-virus.html

He describes a virus as a subset of malware.  The bottom line is that they both refer to malicious code that make your computer do unintended actions, which are harmful.  Because cyber criminals are dreaming up new cyber crimes everyday, it is imperative for us to keep our antivirus and malware software up-to-date. Although computer viruses are rarer today than they were 20-30 years ago, the term "virus" lingers.  The antivirus software programs we use today are actually anti-malware programs. We do not have to pay large amounts of money for the software.  AVG (http://free.avg.com/us-en/homepage) and Malwarebytes (http://www.malwarebytes.org/) are both free solutions.

Information in the first few minutes of the video below explain the different types of malware.

Emerging Android Trojans - Be on the Lookout

PC World has another article on cyber criminal activities involving Android devices,
Beware Android Trojans Hitching a Ride on Botnets, at http://www.techhive.com/article/2048287/beware-android-trojans-hitching-a-ride-on-botnets.html.  

According to the article, the Android is the mobile app equivalent to Windows PC for cyber criminals.  The name of the Android Trojan is Obad.a Trojan.  The Trojan is distributed using botnets designed for other malware.  If you are using an Android mobile device, pay particular attention to the distribution of the Trojan software noted below.

A quote from the article PC World:

"Handsets are initially infected with the botnet software SMS.AndroidOS.Opfake.a through a poisoned link in an SMS message.

The link promises to deliver a new MMS message to the target. If clicked, the botware will be downloaded and the target asked to run it. If the target complies, SMS messages with the same MMS pitch will be sent to everyone on the target's contact list.

In addition, the botware will download Obad.a, which sets up a backdoor on the handset that allows a botmaster to remotely control the device.

Other more conventional means are also used to distribute Obad.a, including SMS spam, links to fake Google Play stores and redirection from poisoned websites."