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What is a Computer Virus?

Before we can comprehend how a computer virus works, it is important to realise what a virus does when it attacks the human body. A small organism, a virus is only able to reproduce itself within another living cell or body. Poor health occurs as a result of a viral infection and body cells are destroyed or damaged as a result.

Able to reproduce itself within another cell or body, the word virus is Latin for ‘poison’ and that is basically what it is - a ‘poison’, an example of an illness caused by a virus is the common cold. They are both able to duplicate and spread within a host and whereas a human virus will damage body cells, a computer virus will damage files within the computer. Usually hidden within a program, file or document, a computer virus can be anywhere on your processor.

These viruses are generated and spread to other people’s computers by criminals, and other gifted idiots with nothing better to do with their time. This activity’s sole purpose is to create trouble and damage for every pc user. Just as influenza can spread from one person to another, contamination of other computers, files and documents can occur as a consequence of a virus entering a computer. Computer viruses can affect every part of the computer preventing it from working properly. As well as through the Internet and through local computer networks, it can multiply through removable storage devices such as memory sticks and floppy disks. It can be unknowingly spread to other computers by the computer user since it is hidden and therefore hard to detect.

Akin to a human virus that makes a person feel unwell, the computer virus works in a similar fashion within a computer. In fact, a ‘digital virus’ will make your computer ill, some can be very harmful, while others are created to simply annoy and just what each type will do to your computer depends on what it has been programmed to do. Macro Viruses, Email Viruses and Trojan Horses. Understanding the basics of what viruses are is the first step to learning what to do about them, and how to be completely in control of your computer’s security.