The mysterious computer virus. Does it really mean the computer has caught a cold? Should we prescribe it some medicine? Take it to the family doctor? What are computer viruses, and how do they spread? Today we are going to look into these common questions and shed light on their answers.

A computer virus is software program which spreads from one computer to another, and interferes with normal computer operation. Viruses are computer programs just like any other computer programs. However, they are usually written by programmers with malicious intent. Some viruses can be absolutely devastating. For example, a truly deadly virus could delete all of the contents on your hard drive. In this case, you would lose everything on your computer! Yet, other viruses are just simply annoying and don’t do any damage. For example, a mild virus could repeatedly open and close your CDROM drive. At the end of the day, a virus only does what it was programmed to do. It is the intent of the programmer which determines the destructiveness of a virus.

Why do people build viruses? I like to use the analogy of “vandalize and run.” People who throw rocks through windows do it because they think they can get away with it, because they want to cause some mischief, and because they CAN. Usually there is no motive for the crime, just simply for the sake of causing grief for others. Similarly, virus programmers feel safe while hiding behind their computer screen. They do it because they have the knowledge to do it, and feel there will be no consequences. They do it for the heck of doing it, just to cause problems for people they don’t even know. This is the unfortunate truth. Maybe they do it out of anger because they were declined for a date! Or, maybe they were declined that date because they program computer viruses… I can’t remember what the order is

Computer viruses spread through a variety of ways. Email has been used as a popular way to spread a virus from one computer to another. By the time you have opened the bogus attachment, its too late; you are already infected. Other common ways to acquire a virus on your computer include downloading from malicious websites, and filesharing applications such as limewire.

Make sure you are always protected by antivirus software such as AVG. Be careful what you open, where you browse, and what you download. Enjoy a safe and happy internet experience

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 17th, 2008 at 7:19 pm and is filed under Malware. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.