A computer virus is a program that infects other computers
or programs and reproduces itself without the knowledge of
the user. When a virus has infected your computer it can spread
to other programs or damage your files or applications depending
on the type of virus.
Top Viruses last month
and Latest Virus Alerts
Worms are programs that propagate from computer to computer
on a network without modifying other programs on the target
machines. Worms can run independently and travel from machine
to machine across network connections and may have portions
of themselves running on many different machines. Worms do
not change other programs, although they may carry other code
that doesTrojan horses are programs that appear to have one
function but actually perform another function. Trojan horses
are named after the Trojan horse of myth. Trojan horses resemble
a program that the user wishes to run - While the program
appears to be doing what the user wants, it is also doing
something else unrelated to its advertised purpose and without
the user's knowledge
There are 1,000 of viruses which can infect your computer
and are spread in a variety of ways
From a floppy disk containing an infected
file or program
By downloading an infected file from the Internet
Via an attachment from an email
The payload of a virus will vary on how the author has instructed
the virus to execute, it could be a text message that appears
on your screen to completely erasing the data on your hard
drive at a set time or date
You should always have an Antivirus program installed on your
computer and an Internet Security program which can be purchased
from computer stores or downloaded from the Internet
Popular Anti Virus Software Vendors
Norton Anti Virus
Norton
Internet Security
McAfee Anti Virus
Sophos Anti Virus
Trend Micro
F-Secure
Aladdin
Internet Security
Kaspersky Anti Virus
Most online sites offer a FREE check of your computer for
any viruses
Safer Computing
Back up your files on a regular basis. If a virus destroys
your files you can replace them with your back-up copy
Do not open any files attached to an email from an unknown,
suspicious or untrustworthy source.
Do not open any files attached to an email unless you know
what it is, even if it came from someone you know. Some
viruses can replicate themselves and spread through email.
Do not open any files attached to an email if the subject
line is questionable or unexpected. Save the file to your
hard drive and check for any viruses
Do not download any files from unknown web sites, viruses
can be hidden in files or programs. If you are unsure copy
the file or program to a floppy and check for any virus
New viruses are released every day so make sure that your
Anti Virus Software has the latest virus definitions installed
it is good practice to have this option set automatically
to update your antivirus software on a weekly or monthly
basis
Safer Email
Email is one way to get a virus but you cannot get infected
just by reading your email. Viruses are sent as attachments
to an email message and must be opened or clicked on to
infect your computer. An executable attachment is a program
that must be run to activate the virus. If you do contract
a virus or other malicious program it can rename or delete
files or send itself to all of your friends or colleagues
in your address book. They can even create an open back
door to your computer for a possible hacker to gain access
to your PC
if an email appears to be sent by someone you know it might
contain malicious code. Always scan attachments before you
open them even if they're from someone you know. If in doubt
do not open it just delete it
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