What is a computer virus? Is Antivirus a real thing?

What is a computer virus? Is Antivirus a real thing?

Viruses, one of the oldest types of computer threats, are nasty bits of malware that hijack your computer's resources to replicate, spread and wreak havoc of all kinds. Read on to learn how viruses work and how you can use sensible tips and a dedicated Complete Security tool to keep your computer safe from viruses.

 

Computer viruses are just like that. If you have the misfortune of catching a computer virus (do not too much blame when that happens, because computer viruses are incredibly common), you can look forward to serious damage to your hard drive - from a throttled PC performance to damaged or destroyed files - calm down.

 

 Wikipedia-style definition of a computer virus

Are you asking yourself: "What are computer viruses?" And would you say you are searching for a brief, straightforward PC infection definition? How about the following:

A computer virus is a program or program code that harms your computer by damaging system files, wasting resources, destroying data, or otherwise being a nuisance.

Viruses differ from other forms of malware in that they can replicate themselves - that is, they can copy themselves to files or other computers without the user's consent.

So you are really contagious.

Different types of computer viruses, malware, Trojans ... what are the differences?

Not all software that attacks your PC is also a PC virus. PC viruses are a form of malware (of "malicious software ", "malicious software"). Some of the most common other types are described below:

•             Trojans: Like the historic wooden steed of warriors that gave Trojans their name, this type of malware simulates or is embedded in harmless legitimate software in order to deceive the user and open the gates to further malware which then infected the PC.

•             Spyware: This type of malware (including keyloggers ) spies on users, saves their passwords, credit card details, other personal data, and online behavior patterns, and sends them to the respective programmer.

•             Worms: This type of malware targets entire networks of devices, jumping from PC to PC.

•             Ransomware: This malware variant hijacks files (and sometimes entire hard drives), encrypts them, and demands a ransom from the victim in exchange for a decryption key (which may or may not work).

•             Adware: This extremely annoying type of malware inundates its victims with unwanted advertisements and creates vulnerable security holes which can then be used to introduce further malware.

As a reminder, viruses are just one of many types of malware. Strictly speaking, Trojans, ransomware, etc. are not computer viruses, although many people briefly refer to them as "viruses" when referring to malware in a general sense.

What is the purpose of viruses and what do they do?

In contrast to the biological variant, computer viruses do not arise “just like that”. They are programmed, often with great care, and deliberately attack computers, systems, and networks.

But what are these viruses used for?

For fun

If you can call that "fun". Others annoy with software, computer code graffiti ... The first computer viruses came from programmers who were just playful. Like the (probably) first virus, Creeper virus, from 1971, which displayed the message “I'm the creeper, catch me if you can!”.

Or the Elk Cloner Virus, which recited a little poem:

 

Or the Ika-Tako virus, which replaced files and programs with images of squids.

 

Or the Stoned virus, which randomly displays the message “Your computer is stoned. Legalize marihuana! ”On the screen (and, true to his role as a stoner, did nothing else).

Or a personal favorite: the virus that pretends to be a message from a well-known software company and offers you a free drink holder when you download and install it. The PC's CD compartment will then open (do you remember CD drives?).

For malicious purposes

Unfortunately, not all viruses are so cute. As the Batman butler put it so nicely: Some people just want to see the world burn - and computer viruses are a very effective way of creating chaos.

For example, the ILOVEYOU virus, which destroyed the files of more than 50 million Internet users worldwide, PCs from starting, copied passwords and sent them to the programmers, causing losses of USD 9 billion in 2000.

Even this amount is nothing compared to the US $ 37 billion damage caused by the Sobig.F virus, which paralyzed computer traffic in Washington DC and caused Air Canada's machines to remain on the ground for a while.

And then there was the Mydoom virus, which wreaked havoc on it that it is believed that global internet traffic was slowed by 10% on the day it was released.

For ... good causes?

Yes, there is a tiny, tiny subgroup of “benign” computer viruses, such as the Cruncher virus, which compresses every infected file and tries to be useful because it saves valuable hard drive space.

For example, there is a virus called Linux. Wifatch, which obviously does nothing but keep the router free from other viruses. Linux. Wifatch is itself a virus - it infects a device without the user's consent and coordinates its actions over a peer-to-peer network - but instead of harming you, it acts as a kind of security service.

(But there are still far better ways to secure your router, and even the programmers of Linux. Wifatch says you shouldn't trust it).

Other “well-intentioned” viruses want to act like a vaccine by getting people, businesses, and governments to step up their security measures and thus be able to counter real threats.

Some virus originators claim they make the world a safer place by exposing security flaws and flaws that other viruses could exploit with truly malicious intent.

“What could go wrong?" Is the inquiry posed in the initial ten minutes of each pandemic catastrophe film? The truth is that viruses can quickly bypass the security measures that they were originally intended to test. Let's think of the Code Red virus, for example, which attacked the White House as in disaster films (well, it was "only" the White House's the web server, but that is no trivial matter) and caused damage of USD 2.6 billion worldwide.