Viruses fall into the category malware (malignment+software). Viruses cause massive disruptions and cost enormous amounts of money in terms of loss of data, loss of productivity, anti-virus measures and solutions.
In this post:
Knowledge required:
1. Definition
A computer virus is software that has been written to intentionally disrupt the normal functioning of a computer. Several viruses reached notoriety through the number of computers they infected and the monetary damages they inflicted. Viruses with names such as ILOVEYOU, CryptoLocker, Melissa & MyDoom all earned their place in the Quarantine Hall of Fame. [1]
Some of the original viruses were files simply sent as email attachments. The ILOVEYOU virus was a file named LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.txt.vbs attached to an email. Because most users do not set their computers to display file extensions, the file appeared as the harmless-looking LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.txt
2. Trojan
A Trojan virus is malware disguised as something useful, like a free computer game. When the game is installed/opened, the malware executes its “payload “, infecting the host computer. The fact that the user actually activates the virus distinguishes it from other malware.
3. Worm
A Worm virus is designed to spread itself over a network such as a LAN.
4. Question time
A common question requires you to compare a computer virus to a software bug or differentiate between the two.
| Computer Virus | Software Bug |
|---|---|
| Created intentionally by a hacker | Created by mistake by a programmer |
| Disrupts normal functions & even deletes/corrupts data or damages hardware | Usually just results in the malfunctioning of the software |
References:
- Norton. (2016) The 8 Most Famous Computer Viruses of All Time. Available at: https://uk.norton.com/norton-blog/2016/02/the_8_most_famousco.html (Accessed: 30 October 2023).