Computer viruses are nothing new; in fact, the first documented virus was found on the grandfather of the modern internet, the ARPANET, in the 1970’s. As you can see, computer users have been battling these threats for almost four decades now.

The first recorded virus, called “The Creeper”, was harmless in the sense that it only displayed an annoying message. Since then, viruses have evolved to advanced viruses, worms, Trojans, adware, spyware and malware. Confusing as it sounds, all of these can be categorized under the broad category of Malware or Malicious Software.

The answer to the title question is – YES. Scanners for all sorts of malware do exist, but the recent trend has been for scanners to be able to handle a multitude of threats. No longer do we need to have specialized scanners for separate threats.

There are many malware scanners on the market today, and in choosing one of them, the price is always an issue. If you do encounter this problem, consider one of the free scanners available. Although the word “free” might lead you to think that there are components missing or that they do not perform properly, they actually do a great job. The only catch is that the free service is only applicable if it is used on a home computer for personal use only.

When deciding on a malware scanner, be sure to read reviews and discussions on the product. This will help you make a better decision on which one to pick, especially if you are going to spend some money.