R. FRANK NIMS MIDDLE SCHOOL A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO VIRUSES

Common Confusion  Many people sometimes confuse viruses, trojan horses and worms to be the same thing  Indeed they may be similar, but all 3 do different things.  Knowing the difference between the 3 may help you better protect your computer from their damaging effects

Viruses  A virus is a program or piece of code that is loaded onto your computer without your knowledge and runs against your wishes.  Almost all viruses are attached to an executable file, this means the virus may exist on your computer but it actually cannot infect your computer unless you run or the program.  It is important to note that a virus cannot be spread without human action, (such as running an infected program) to keep it going.

Worms  Considered to be a sub-class of a virus.  They spread from computer to computer but unlike viruses they DO NOT need human action to travel.  The biggest threat of the worm is its capability to replicate itself and sending out thousands of copies of itself.  In most cases the worm consumes way too much memory causing web and network servers to stop responding

Trojan Horse  A destructive program that acts as useful software but will do damage once installed and ran on your computer.  Unlike viruses, Trojan horses do not replicate themselves  The Damage varies depending on the design:  Some will change your desktop or add silly icons  Others will delete files and destroy informations

Trojan Horse (contd.)  The worst part of a Trojan horse is that some will create a “backdoor” to your computer that will gives any user access to all your information  This can lead to the compromisation of confidential and personal files.

Most Common Ways Computers get Infected  Accepting without Agreeing.  Downloading a “required plug-in”.  Opening Attachments  Not running the latest updates  Pirating software, music and/or movies  Not running an antivirus spyware scanner

Protecting Your Computer  The first step, is making sure your Operating System is up to date.  You also want to make sure you have an antivirus while frequently downloading updates to ensure that your antivirus can fix the latest viruses, trojan horses, and worms.  Purchase an antivirus that can scan s and downloaded files from the internet.

Protecting Your Computer  Not only do you need to have an antivirus downloaded and running, you also need a firewall as well.  This prevents unauthorized use and access to your computer.  Can be either hardware or software  Usually software can protect you in more ways than hardware.  Keep in mind, these options won’t fully protect you but will offer much needed security.

Summary  What we learned:  Viruses cannot infect your computer unless a person runs the program.  Worms will infect your computer without somebody running it.  Trojan Horses act as useful software but will damage your computer once installed  Common ways to put your computer at risk as well as ways to protect your computer.