Most Dangerous Viruses
The internet is a very useful tool which is great for different reasons. The web is like another virtual world where we can meet, interact and have fun. However, just like the real world, this virtual world isn't full of friendly people. There are lots of people on the internet who are malicious and will try to con you out of money.
Dangers On The Internet
There are lots of dangerous things to watch out for on the internet. These include hackers, identity theft and of course viruses. Most people are already fully aware of the threats caused by viruses and know just how serious this threat is.
Cybercrime is on the rise with identity theft being one of the biggest problems on the internet. The internet has made it possible for many of these crimes to be conducted without anyone having to be face to face with the victim.
Viruses
Computer viruses are harmful applications which get installed onto your computer. These have a number of different uses and can effectively track your every move. Viruses can make your computer very ill and unless you sort it out as quickly as possible then it's only going to get worse.
Computer viruses are man-made. They are becoming more like weapons everyday and are capable of spreading through entire networks of computers. Viruses are illegal and the creators of them can be arrested if they are ever caught.
Famous Viruses
There are thousands of computer viruses floating around the internet. A new one is released every week and that's why you need to keep your virus scanner fully updated. We'll now look at some of the most well known viruses throughout history.
Melissa Virus
This was a particularly potent virus which managed to spread very quickly. It affected millions of computers and managed to spread to over 20% of all the worlds' computers. This had some very large profile victims including Intel and Microsoft. The Melissa virus relied upon a security vulnerability with the Outlook mail client. The virus worked by sending a copy of the virus to the first 50 people on your outlook contacts.
To stop the spread of the Melissa virus many mail servers were shut down. This was a very serious virus which is still seen occasionally.
Blaster Worm
This is another powerful piece of malware. This is technically a worm which means it's capable of sending itself to other people. It used vulnerabilities in Windows XP and 2000 computers. This virus can shut down your computer on a regular basis, which can make using it very difficult.