Viruses are recommended as computer malware which is a combination of €malicious€ and €software€. It is a piece of software which is developed by cyber criminals with mischievous or for fulfilling criminal intents. These malwares includes worms, Trojan horses and spywares and viruses as well. The function of these malwares is to spread to computers and infect them and causes serious damages to the files. It spreads in many different ways by emails attachments, malicious websites, pop-up ads, or through file sharing.
What Viruses do-
- Viruses are designed to erase all the stored information from the hard disk. But each viruses are different some of them displays strange messages on screen, some makes small changes to computer programs, some are meant for threatening users in order to collect ransome money, some are meant for hijacking users web browsers and sneaks into the computer vulnerabilities.
- These viruses do not float in air like human viruses it is computer programs that is created by cyber criminals for fulfilling their malicious purposes.
- Viruses can not affect the ROM but it can affect the RAM and your computer disks. When you shut down the computer a virus is lost just like other memory on RAM.
- Viruses return to computer when you use the program again and again. The switching from one program to another without shutting down the machine, attack itself to the new programs and slowly infects the whole computer.
How to protect the system?
- An up-to-date software protection on the system. But running more than one anti-virus may to disastrous situation.
- By keeping system up to date with security patches is very useful. Patching of operating system and its applications is very important. As malwares are designed for exploiting vulnerabilities in unpatched programs.
- Opening up email attachments may also be dangerous some time. Attachments proposing 6to be security updates from Microsoft or other vendors are also harmful and shouldn't be opened.
- Emails that link to anything where money is involved e.g. PayPal, eBay can be dangerous too.
- Don't follow the links of unexpected messages from any client it may appear to may be designed to exploit trust.
- Accepting media like DVD or USB may be dangerous it may corrupt the system badly, as it can contain many malicious threats.
- Regular backing up of all the important stuffs is very necessary as it can help you to recover from any virus attack or infection or any other disaster.
Regular scanning with the help of anti-virus programs helps and keeping it up to date on a regular basis and having up to date copy is very helpful for eradicating viruses from the system.