Malware: Virus

Virus.  All I have to do is say the word, right?  In all likelihood, everyone reading this has had one at one time or another.  They are everywhere it seems, lurking in every corner of the internet.  Sometimes they find you through innocuous means, sometimes when you are surfing the dark waves of the internet, and sometimes seemingly out of the blue!  Let’s figure out what the heck these things are exactly, how we can remove them if we ever get infected, and what we can do to prevent getting them in the future.

What is a Computer Virus?

Ah, nature.  The original model for everything we build.  The computer virus is no different.  It derives its name from its biological counterpart because they share similar characteristics.  A computer virus is a small software program that is designed to copy itself and spread from one machine to another.  Again, just like their biological counterparts, they are crafty devils.  Computer viruses have developed the ability to transfer copies of themselves over networks, on removable media such as CD/DVD’s, USB Drives, Memory Cards, etc.

Once again, just like their biological namesakes, computer viruses attach themselves to a host (some form of executable file – a program, video, song, etc.) in order to spread from machine to machine.  If the user tries to launch this infected program, the viruses code is executed as well, infecting the user.

There are two types of viruses:  resident and nonresident.  Nonresident viruses immediately look for other hosts that they can infect, do so, and then hand over control of the machine to the author of the malware.  Resident viruses make a nice home in your system’s memory, stay active in the background, and infect new hosts when the opportunity arises.  They also transfer control back to their maker.

The venerable John von Neumann led the work that pushed the “Theory of self-replicating automata” in the late 1940′s and early ’50′s.  In what Generation Y or the Millenials are sure to find funny, the first computer virus was the CREEPER virus.  The capabilities of viruses are similar to other forms of malware in that they can overtake your computer, harvest your personal information, turn your computer into a zombie on a botnet, etc.

What Can You Do?

Head over to my Removing Malware/Spyware/Viruses page.  You are going to want to download a free program from Microsoft called the Microsoft Safety Scanner.  This tool is a couple of notches above amazing.  That isn’t hyperbole, this tool will root out almost anything you throw at it.  I suggest that you follow the steps on that page.  You will now be sporting a nice, clean computer system.  Feels good, doesn’t it?

Prevent Viruses

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.  This statement could not be more true in the computer world.  Your behavior and computing habits will have much more to do with whether or not your computer gets infected than any other factor.  You MUST read my Secure Computing Habits page, and heed its advice.  Feel free to check out my Software to Prevent Problems page for my recommendations for FREE software that does a fantastic job of keeping your system clean should your guard ever drop.

There are tons of viruses out there, and they are all looking for a system to get into.  Don’t let yours be one of them.  Follow this advice, and the risk that you will be infected will decrease dramatically!

Oh, and don’t forget to hug your favorite Geek!