What is a Computer Virus?

A virus is a computer code that has been designed to “spread” and replicate itself by passing from computer to computer. It is a piece of software that piggybacks on legitimate programs like Excel, Word, WordPerfect, Outlook, etc… When the program is run, the virus is triggered to run too. Viruses can be destructive in nature, and can cause a wide range of problems ranging from operating system and file corruption to getting blamed for email spamming. Some viruses are just annoying, but cause no damage.

Viruses usually find their way into computers through networks (local networks as well as the internet) by taking advantage of unpatched security vulnerabilities (holes) in software or by receiving an infected file via email, download or shared disk. Depending on the type of virus, it may be embedded in an Excel or Word file, or may be designed to infect upon the opening of an email. Once infected, a computer can literally infect thousands of other computers by quietly spreading the virus without the user even knowing about it.

Anti Virus Solution

Computer viruses are highly prevalent in our world today, and unless your computer is running as a stand-alone machine with no connection to the internet and you never transfer files to it from floppy, USB or CDRom, it is essential to use some form of anti virus software. Anti virus software is designed to identify and destroy (or isolate) all viruses as they are introduced to your computer. Because new viruses are introduced every day, even the best anti virus software might not work if it is not updated regularly. For an anti virus solution to work properly, its database must be updated regularly with the newest virus definition files.