Types Of Computer Viruses

Without computer virus protection, most PC users run the risk of losing valuable data and having hard drives completely destroyed. A virus is defined as a computer program hidden usually within another program that reproduces itself and inserts copies into other programs which perform malicious actions, such as destroying data or hard drives. These types of computer viruses can spread from PC to PC via portable data storage media, such as floppy drives and USBs, transferred within a local area network or LAN, or inadvertently downloaded from the Internet. Similar to an infectious biological agent that grows and multiplies in living cells, an electronic viral agent is difficult to eradicate once it has invaded a system.

Just as health practitioners prescribe an antibiotic to stop infection in its tracks, computer virus protection software is the only surefire safeguard against most kinds of bugs. Antivirus programs scan a computer's memory and storage to identify, isolate and eliminate infectious agents before they can do any damage to a hard drive or file. Incoming files, especially transferred from one PC to another via e-mail, or downloaded from the Internet are scanned prior to opening. A good antivirus program alerts users to potentially deadly files and asks users' permission before downloading suspicious files. The damage viruses do to computers can be substantial enough to completely destroy a hard drive, causing users to lose valuable and irreplaceable data. From one PC, worms can destroy an entire network unless systems administrators install antivirus software.

While types of computer viruses can create mayhem and wreak havoc on corporate networks and individual workstations, sin in the life of a man or woman can cause pain, heartache and discouragement. The only solution is Jesus. "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace" (Romans 6:12-14).

These types of computer viruses include a myriad of infectious programs named for every letter of the alphabet and so numerous that there is no room to list them all in this article. Each day, more programs are being written by hackers and unscrupulous programmers with twisted minds and misguided consciences who take pleasure in destroying electronic data, annihilating hard drives, and wreaking havoc in cyberspace. As a matter of fact, the prevalence of malicious and nuisance viruses throughout the globe has caused the federal government to enforce laws against writing and intentionally triggering harmful programs. Writing and willfully infecting computer systems with malicious and nuisance agents is a federal offense, punishable by law.

Initially some viruses were written by software manufacturers to prevent licensing abuses and bootleg copying. However, copycat hackers began writing malicious programs to infiltrate and destroy corporate and personal computer systems. The first reported agent was the Creeper, invented in the early 70s, which infected remote computers via dial-out modems. Known for its unlucky namesake, the Friday the 13th program, aka the Israeli or Jerusalem agent, earned its claim to fame over twenty years ago when detected on a PC at the University of Jerusalem. Its modus operandi is reportedly the ability to slow down a system and etch black rectangles on a portion of the screen. The Friday the 13th program is also triggered when the system reaches this date and reportedly will proceed to annihilate every other good program from the hard drive. Powerful computer virus protection is the only solution to combatting destructive programs.

Another well known program is the Trojan horse, which is usually found in personal computer systems. Similar to the Trojan horse of Greek mythology, but technically not a viral agent, this program reportedly appears innocent until users run an infected code. The Trojan horse rears its ugly head to ruin valuable data, halt a system's performance, or corrupt software. A Trojan horse could more appropriately be categorized as malware, or malicious software. Certain types of computer viruses and malware have the capability to not only damage expensive software programs, but also to reformat the hard drive or wipe out valuable files. Malicious viruses carry computer "bugs" which can result in system crashes if left undetected. Imagine how much damage a Trojan horse, worm, or malware can do to a corporate database! The stakes are high for agencies that must keep sensitive data and personal information safe and secure. Government installations, large conglomerates, institutions of higher learning, healthcare facilities, and financial institutions are all subject to invasion by malware.

Symptoms of infiltration include a frozen mouse, keyboard, screen, or interface; erratically copied documents; destroyed hard drives; deleted files; or lost data. Non-malicious viruses include adware which comes from Internet advertising. Commercial pop-ups sporadically appear and reappear and are difficult to close. Most PC users have experienced adware that won't go away and spyware that uses up memory and disrupts file transfers and data transmissions. Nuisance programs tie up memory, destroy functionality, and continue to self-duplicate until computer virus protection specifically designed to remove spyware and adware is installed.

Powerful computer virus protection is the only solution to detecting malware, spyware, and adware and either destroying it before it destroys a system, or preventing it from infecting files, hard drives or entire networks. Most popular antivirus software is reasonably priced and some programs can be downloaded free of charge online. Once antivirus protection and firewalls are installed, users can rest assured that sensitive systems and networks can resist infiltration from malware and hackers. Individual users and network administrators must guard against future infiltration by regularly installing updates, employing Internet security programs, and advising against downloading suspicious emails and visiting porno sites. A pristine PC can only remain healthy if users are diligent in monitoring and enabling antivirus programs to ward off malicious attacks.

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