 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Computer Viruses  |
| |
 It was only a matter of time before the criminal element found their way into the computer world and began tracking down victims on the information super highway.
Their victims are usually those that are uninformed and unprotected against computer viruses. Understanding what a virus is and how it works can help you protect yourself from fraud, computer damage and other common computer crimes.
- Definition: Simply stated, a computer virus is a program that infects a computer by attaching itself to another program upon which it reproduces itself when that program is executed. A virus is a program much like all others on your hard drive. However, unlike those programs it attempts to break, alter, or erase files on your machine rather than create them. The effects of computer viruses are varied. They can make it tough to start your computer, receive email messages, run certain programs, save materials properly, or they may just display messages to the user.
- Transmission: Just like a flu virus, a computer virus can be spread from one computer to another by contact: when files are shared. You may have contracted a computer virus when you downloaded infected files from a strange disk or from the Internet via email or a web page. Be sure you know who is sending email attachments before opening them, and avoid downloading information form the Internet to your hard drive.
- Protection: The best way to keep your computer virus free is to install one of several anti virus software programs. These programs search out various types of viruses and bring them to your attention. These programs are often updated and older versions may not catch new virus types. You can also scan disks you use to determine if they are infected before you transmit files. Most importantly, use a backup system to store all of the important operating files so that if a virus renders some of your files and programs useless you can correct the problem with a little work.
Computer viruses are seemingly everywhere these days. The best advice is to watch the local and national news and stay abreast of any new developments. Often large corporations will be attacked first and spread the word about troublesome emails or files that you may come into contact with.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|