The number of computer security threats that are notorious and wild in the computer sector baffles most of the normal user. In the lack of proper information about the kind of threat they are infected with, people are not able to take proper remedial measures. Here is a special spyware vs malware comparison which should assist you in finding out what kind of problem you are facing and how does it create a risk for you. The very first thing that you should know is the package in which a spyware or a malware comes into your PC. Malware generally consists of viruses. It comes as a complete code package which is capable of replicating itself in such a manner that any computer which comes in contact with an infected computer also becomes infected. This may even be through using shared removable storage devices like CDs, DVDs, Floppy disks or pen drives. On the other hand the spyware does not replicate itself. It does not propagate in that manner. In case if it relies on host application, the host applications would need to propagate in order for the spyware to propagate. It can not propagate from one infected computer to infect another computer all by itself. Second thing is the primary target of malware vs spyware is different. In case of a spyware, the main of such a threat is to steal your data, especially the information that is sensitive in nature. This means it would not cause any intentional damage to your data. On the other had, malware primarily aims to destroy the data stored on your computer. The virus would infect the files on your computer and corrupt the data on your computer. So while one aims to steal your data, other aims to destroy it outright. The third thing is that recognition of malware and spyware is done using different symptoms. In case of spyware you would experience that the speed with which you connect to the internet goes down. This is because the spyware phones home and sends the data that it stole from your computer to the person who installed the spyware on your computer. Other than this you would also see that a number of pop up advertisements are displayed on your computer.The symptoms of being infected by malware are different. Here the major symptoms would be that your programs would stop working by themselves Similarly the files that are stored on your computer would become unusable. The computer's performance would also be degraded seriously.Proper information about spyware vs malware is necessary because you would not want to be in a condition where you are trying to isolate one problem while you are actually suffering from another problem.