Virus and Malware

A computer virus or malware is a program intended to spread from one system to other system with an ability to imitate itself. These PC viruses cannot replicate and spread without programming for example, a file or document. Many viruses are designed to damage computer systems by harming programs, erasing documents, sapping PC memory, stealing passwords or data, corrupting files, reformatting the hard drive and causing recurrent PC crashes.

How does a virus spread and attack a computer?

In today’s world, where connectivity is everything, a computer can contract a virus in numerous ways. For example, PC can contract a virus when downloading internet files, through email and file attachments, clicking on scam links etc.

When a malware is attached to any file or document in a computer, it stays inactive until conditions cause the system to execute its code. A virus infects a computer only when you run the infected program which means it can stay inactive on a computer without showing any symptoms. But when the virus infects the PC, it can do devastating things such as deleting files, taking over the system, infecting other systems on the same network and causing permanent damage to the hard disk.

Symptoms of virus infected computers

There are many signs of virus infected computer systems. Some of them are:

Pop-up windows:              Infected PCs show frequent pop-up windows encouraging the user to open unusual sites containing virus.
Changes on homepage:   Some viruses changes user homepage to other websites. Sometimes, making users unable to reset it.
Massive emails:                Large number of emails may be sent from user email account in case a criminal take over the control of user account.
Slow performance:           A sudden slowdown in computer performance can be due to the virus.
Unusual activities:           These can be password change, unknown programs starting up while turning on a system and frequent crashes shows the computer is intact with a virus.

How to avoid a computer virus?

A computer virus can be avoided by being fully aware when using the internet. Users should avoid downloading unnecessary files, opening unexpected links and attachments from websites you don’t trust.