COMPUTER VIRUS

WHAT IS VIRUS?
 Computer viruses are small software programs that are designed to
spread from one computer to another and to interfere with
computer operation.
 A virus might corrupt or delete data on your computer, use your e-
mail program to spread itself to other computers, or even erase
everything on your hard disk.
 Viruses are most easily spread by attachments in e-mail messages
or instant messaging messages. That is why it is essential that you
never open e-mail attachments unless you know who it's from and
you are expecting it.
 Viruses can be disguised as attachments of funny images, greeting
cards, or audio and video files. Viruses also spread through
downloads on the Internet. They can be hidden in illicit software or
other files or programs you might download.
 To help avoid viruses, it's essential that you keep your computer
current with the latest updates and antivirus tools , stay informed
about recent threats , and that you follow a few basic rules when
you surf the Internet, download files, and open attachments.
 Once a virus is on your computer, its type or the method it used to
get there is not as important as removing it and preventing further
infection
 HOW DO I REMOVE A COMPUTER
VIRUS?
 If your computer is infected with a virus, you'll want to remove it as quickly as possible. A
fast way to check for viruses is to use an online scanner, such as the Microsoft Safety
Scanner. The scanner is a free online service that helps you identify and remove viruses,
clean up your hard disk, and generally improve your computer's performance.
 If you're not sure whether your computer has a virus, see How can I tell if my computer has
a virus? to check for some telltale signs. To try a different online scanner, follow the links to
other companies that provide them on the Windows Security software providers webpage.

 To run the Microsoft Safety Scanner
 1. Go to the Microsoft Safety Scanner webpage to download the scanner.
 2. Click Download Now, and then follow the instructions on the screen.
 If you can't connect to the Internet
 If you can't get to the Microsoft Safety Scanner online, try restarting your computer in safe
mode with networking enabled.

 To restart in Safe Mode with networking enabled
 1. Restart your computer.
 2. When you see the computer manufacturer's logo, press and hold the F8 key.
 3. On the Advanced Boot Options screen, use the arrow keys to highlight Safe Mode
with Networking, and then press Enter.
 4. Log on to your computer with a user account that has administrator rights.
 5. Follow the steps above to run the Microsoft Safety Scanner
 GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT
COMPUTER VIRUS
 Different Malware Types.
 Malware is a general name for all programs that are harmful;
viruses, trojan, worms and all other similar programs.
 Viruses
 A computer virus is a program, a block of executable code, which
attach itself to, overwrite or otherwise replace another program in
order to reproduce itself without a knowledge of a PC user.
 There are a couple of different types of computer viruses: boot
sector viruses, parasitic viruses, multi-partite viruses, companion
viruses, link viruses and macro viruses. These classifications take
into account the different ways in which the virus can infect
different parts of a system. The manner in which each of these
types operates has one thing in common: any virus has to be
executed in order to operate.
 Most viruses are pretty harmless. The user might not even notice
the virus for years. Sometimes viruses might cause random damage
to data files and over a long period they might destroy files and
disks. Even benign viruses cause damage by occupying disk space
and main memory, by using up CPU processing time. There is also
the time and expense wasted in detecting and removing viruses.
 TROJAN
 A Trojan Horse is a program that does something else
that the user thought it would do. It is mostly done to
someone on purpose. The Trojan Horses are usually
masked so that they look interesting, for example a
saxophone.Wav file that interests a person collecting
sound samples of instruments. A Trojan Horse differs
from a destructive virus in that it doesn't reproduce.
There has been a password trojan out in AOL land (the
American On Line). Password30 and Pasword50 which
some people thought were wav. files, but they were
disguised and people did not know that they had the
trojan in their systems until they tried to change their
passwords.
 According to an administrator of AOL, the Trojan steals
passwords and sends an E-mail to the hackers fake
name and then the hacker has your account in his hands.
 WORM
A worm is a program which spreads
usually over network connections.
Unlike a virus which attach itself to a
host program, worms always need a
host program to spread.
In practice, worms are not normally
associated with one person
computer systems.
They are mostly found in multi-user
systems such as Unix environments.
A classic example of a worm is
Robert Morrisis Internet-worm 1988.
 OTHER TYPES OF VIRUS

Bacteria
Bacteria, also known as rabbits, are
programs that do not directly damage
the system. Instead they replicate
themselves until they monopolize CPU,
memory or disk space. This constitutes
a denial of service attack.
Bombs
A bomb is actually a type of Trojan horse
that can be used to release a virus or
bacteria. Bombs work by causing an
unauthorized action at a specified date,
time or when a particular condition
occurs. There are two types of bombs;
logic and time. Logic bombs are set to go
off when a particular event occurs. Time
bombs go off at a specified time, date or
after a set amount of time elapses.
Salami
Salamis cut away tiny pieces of data.
They can be particularly dangerous as
the damage they do is small and can be
attributed to some truncation of the
system. It is possible for a salami to do
a great deal of damage before it is
found.
 HOW VIRUSES ACTIVE?
We are always afraid that viruses do something
harmful to files when they get active, but not all
the viruses activate. Some viruses just spread
out, but when viruses activate they do very
different things. Might play a part of melody or
play music in the background, show a picture or
animated picture, show text, format hard disk or
do changes to files.
 As an example, in one unnamed company: over a
long period of time, the files in a server were
corrupted just a bit. So backup copies were taken
from the corrupted files. And after they noticed
that something was wrong, it was too late to get
back the data from the backups. That kind of
event is the worst that can happen for the uses.
 CONCLUSION
 There are lots of viruses in the world and new viruses are
coming up every day. There are new anti-virus programs and
techniques developed too. It is good to be aware of viruses
and other malware and it is cheaper to protect you
environment from them rather then being sorry.
 There might be a virus in your computer if it starts acting
differently. There is no reason to panic if the computer virus
is found.
 It is good to be a little suspicious of malware when you surf
in the Internet and download files. Some files that look
interesting might hide a malware.
 A computer virus is a program that reproduces itself and its
mission is to spread out. Most viruses are harmless and
some viruses might cause random damage to data files.
 A trojan horse is not a virus because it doesn't reproduce.
The trojan horses are usually masked so that they look
interesting. There are trojan horses that steal passwords
and formats hard disks.