What is a Virus: a Guide For Newbies

You've heard about them in the media. You've probably even had one. Today, they are commonplace. They are computer viruses.

A computer virus is a small software application that was created by someone who's goal is to cause grief for you and your computer. Isn't that nice?

Viruses can do all sorts of damage. Once might delete files on your PC. Another might take control of your email application and then use it to spread itself to everyone in your address book. Another may be designed to delete everything on your hard drive; thereby turning your computer into a paperweight.

The people that make viruses are clever individuals. They disguise the virus in a variety of ways. Some popular ways are funny images, audio files, greeting cards, spreadsheets, word documents, and video files.

The most common way that viruses are spread is via attachments to email messages or instant messaging messages. Because of this, the most effective way to prevent getting a virus is to never open an email attachment unless you know who it's from and you have been told that its coming your way. If in doubt, ask!

Even more popular than attachments, are Internet downloads. Virus creators will hide a virus in all sorts of files that an unsuspecting user will download. it could be a video game demo, a word template, a photo, or a screen saver. The possibilities are endless.

If you want to keep your computer free of virus infection, it is imperative that you keep it current with the latest updates and antivirus tools, stay informed about recent threats, and then follow a few strict guidelines when surfing, downloading, and opening attachments.

For example, if you share files over a peer to peer network, you are taking a major risk. P2P file sharing has become incredibly popular for embedding viruses and other forms of malicious software. Spyware is rampant. Unfortunately, there is little you can do to protect yourself if you are an active P2P file sharer. Perhaps that $.99/song isn't so bad after all?

If you do get infected, how it got there is less important than getting it removed. The easiest way to remove a virus is to install antivirus software, make sure it is up to date, and then run a scan on your computer. There are a number of developers of antivirus software; some better than others. Among the top makers are Trend Micro, McAfee, Kaspersky, and Panda. Interestingly, Kaspersky is the technology that most of the other companies use as a part of their program.

You can click here to read a Kaspersky Internet Security 2009 Review