Computer Viruses and their Effects on your PC Essay Example For Students

Computer Viruses and their Effects on your PC Essay Table of ContentsWhat is a Virus? 1HOW A VIRUS INFECTS YOUR SYSTEM: ..2HOW DOES A VIRUS SPREAD? .3BIGGEST MYTH: I BUY ALL OF MY PROGRAMS ON CD ROM FROM THESTORE. STORE BOUGHT SOFTWARE NEVER CONTAINS VIRUSES. 3INFECTION (DAMAGES) 4PROTECT YOUR COMPUTER, NOW!! .. 5A virus is an independent program that reproduces itself. It can attachitself to other programs and make copies of itself (i.e., companion viruses). It can damage or corrupt data, or lower the performance of your system by usingresources like memory or disk space. A virus can be annoying or it can cost youlots of cold hard cash. A virus is just another name for a class of programs. They do anything that another program can. The only distinguishingcharacteristic is the program has ability to reproduce and infect other programs. Is a computer virus similar to a human virus? Below is a chart that will showthe similarities. Comparing Biological Viruses Human VirusesHuman Virus EffectsAttack specific body cells Modify the genetic information of acell other than previous one. It performs tasks. New viruses grow in theinfected cell itself. An infected program may not exhibit symptoms for awhile. Not all cells with which the virus contact are infected. Viruses canmutate and thus cannot clearly be diagnosed. Infected cells arent infected morethan once by the same cell. Computer Virus EffectsAttack specific programs (*.com,*.exe) Manipulate the program: The infectedprogram produces virus programs. The infected program can work without error fora long time. Program can be made immune against certain viruses. Virus programcan modify themselves possibly escape detection this way. Programs areinfected only once by most viruses. There are many ways a virus can infect you system. One way is, if thevirus is a file infecting virus, when you run a file infected with that virus. This particular kind of virus can only infect if YOU run the program! Thisvirus targets COM and EXE files, but have also been found in other executablefiles. some viruses are memory resident which will infect every file run afterthat one. Other are direct action injectors that immediately infect otherfiles on your hard drive then leave. Another way viruses infect your system isif they are polymorphic. Polymorphism is where the virus changes itself withevery infection so it is harder to find. Also, virus writers have come up witha virus called a multipartite virus. This virus can infect boot sectors and themaster boot record as well as files therefore enables it to attack more targets,spread further and thus do more damage. A computer virus can be spread in many different ways. The first way isby a person knowingly installing a virus onto a computer. Now the computer isinfected with a virus. The second way is inserting your disk into an infectedcomputer. The infected computer will duplicate the virus onto your disk. Nowyour disk is a virus carrier.Any computer that comes in contact with thisdisk will become infected. For example, I once caught a virus from CochiseCollege by copying two non-infected disks, the computer was infected.What ifmy friend borrows an infected disk? Your friends computer will most likelybecome infected the instant that he/she uses your disk into a computer. Thethird way, is the Internet. A lot of programs on the Internet contain liveviruses. However, there seems to be countless numbers of ways to becomeinfected. Every time you download a program from somewhere or borrow a diskfrom a friend, you are taking a risk of getting infected. .u6e43b40894262df5f72e2a6c69bfea43 , .u6e43b40894262df5f72e2a6c69bfea43 .postImageUrl , .u6e43b40894262df5f72e2a6c69bfea43 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u6e43b40894262df5f72e2a6c69bfea43 , .u6e43b40894262df5f72e2a6c69bfea43:hover , .u6e43b40894262df5f72e2a6c69bfea43:visited , .u6e43b40894262df5f72e2a6c69bfea43:active { border:0!important; } .u6e43b40894262df5f72e2a6c69bfea43 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u6e43b40894262df5f72e2a6c69bfea43 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u6e43b40894262df5f72e2a6c69bfea43:active , .u6e43b40894262df5f72e2a6c69bfea43:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u6e43b40894262df5f72e2a6c69bfea43 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u6e43b40894262df5f72e2a6c69bfea43 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u6e43b40894262df5f72e2a6c69bfea43 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u6e43b40894262df5f72e2a6c69bfea43 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u6e43b40894262df5f72e2a6c69bfea43:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u6e43b40894262df5f72e2a6c69bfea43 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u6e43b40894262df5f72e2a6c69bfea43 .u6e43b40894262df5f72e2a6c69bfea43-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u6e43b40894262df5f72e2a6c69bfea43:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Angela's Ashes written by Frank McCourt EssayComputer software bought in stores have been know to carry viruses. How? CD-ROMS are non-recordable? A virus may be installed into a computer atthe time of manufacturing.In September of 1996, the September edition ofMicrosoft SPCD has a file infected with a virus called Wazzu. Watch out forSIAMKTOOLSCASEED3905A.DOC.Microsoft aided the spread of Wazzu bydistributing a Wazzu-infected document on the Swiss ORBITconference CD, andkeeping an identical copy of the infected document on its Swiss Website for atleast five days after being notified of the problem. It is noted, by Microsoftrecords , that over 2 million of the infected CDs were sold. The CDs werereplaced on a recall from Microsoft, however: this aided the spread of the WazzuVirus. The major damages can vary, but here are the most common: A.Fill upyour P.C. with Garbage:As a virus reproduces, it takes up space. This space cannot be used bythe operatorAs more copies of the virus are made, the memory space is lessened. B.Mess Up Files:Computer files have a fixed method of being stored. With this being thecase, it is very easy for a computer virus to affect the system so someparts of the accessed files cannot be located. C.Mess Up FAT:Fat (File Allocation Table) is the method used to contain theinformation required about the location of files stored on a disk. Anyallocation to this information can cause endless troubleD.Mess Up The Boot Sector:The boot sector is the special information found on a disk. Changingthe boot sector could result in the inability of the computer to run. E.Erase The Whole Hard Drive/ Diskette:A virus can simply format a disk. This will cause you to lose all ofthe data stored on the formatted disk. F.Reset The Computer:Virus can reset your computer. Normally, the operator or user has topress a few keys. The virus can do this by sending codes to the operatingsystem. G.Slowing Things Down:The object of this virus can slow down the running line of a program. This causes a computer with 100 megahertz to act like a computer with 16megahertz. That is why a 486 or 586 computer can slow down and run as ifit were a 286. As I would call it Turtle Speed. H.Redefine Keys:The computer has been programmed to recognize certain codes with thepress of certain keys. For Example: When you press the letter T, yourcomputer puts a T on your display. A virus can change the command. Imagine if every time you pressed the T, your computer would format your harddrive. I.Lock The Keyboard:Redefining all the keys into an empty key. Then the user cannot use thekeyboard to input any data. People are often telling me I am paranoid of viruses. Some forms of paranoiaare healthy. When it comes to securing your system from viruses, trust no one,not even your mother-when you change disks with her, that is. Thank god for theinvention of Anti-Virus Software. Anti-Virus Software is a program that canprotect your PC from a virus. They can also remove a virus, once it is detected. However, there are thousands of viruses in existence. And finding a consistantvirus scanning program can be rough. I have read many articles on popular virusscanning programs. I have found the top two virus scanning programs to be: #1.)McAfee Virus Scan#2.)Norton Anti-VirusBoth of these programs can prevent a virus from entering your computer. If one sneaks past, then you will have a choice to delete the file, clean thevirus or move the virus. I would highly suggest you to check out these programsand test them. Conclusion:Remember, one virus can shred many years of work on your computer. Protectyourself and always, use an Anti-Virus Program. .udd376d50455c49b0f5cf4daa16f5a1d2 , .udd376d50455c49b0f5cf4daa16f5a1d2 .postImageUrl , .udd376d50455c49b0f5cf4daa16f5a1d2 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .udd376d50455c49b0f5cf4daa16f5a1d2 , .udd376d50455c49b0f5cf4daa16f5a1d2:hover , .udd376d50455c49b0f5cf4daa16f5a1d2:visited , .udd376d50455c49b0f5cf4daa16f5a1d2:active { border:0!important; } .udd376d50455c49b0f5cf4daa16f5a1d2 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .udd376d50455c49b0f5cf4daa16f5a1d2 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .udd376d50455c49b0f5cf4daa16f5a1d2:active , .udd376d50455c49b0f5cf4daa16f5a1d2:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .udd376d50455c49b0f5cf4daa16f5a1d2 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .udd376d50455c49b0f5cf4daa16f5a1d2 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .udd376d50455c49b0f5cf4daa16f5a1d2 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .udd376d50455c49b0f5cf4daa16f5a1d2 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .udd376d50455c49b0f5cf4daa16f5a1d2:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .udd376d50455c49b0f5cf4daa16f5a1d2 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .udd376d50455c49b0f5cf4daa16f5a1d2 .udd376d50455c49b0f5cf4daa16f5a1d2-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .udd376d50455c49b0f5cf4daa16f5a1d2:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: The Great Gatsby Essay ThesisCategory: Technology