ViruS ComPuTeR

Swine Flu Computer Virus

Almost everyone today is aware of swine flu. However, most people think it affects only humans. While they are correct, what they might not know is that there is also a computer virus by the same name. This means that swine flu is putting the health of our computers at risk as well as our own bodies.

Virus

A computer virus is simply a piece of malicious software which is designed to replicate itself and spread itself as far as possible. Viruses have made themselves at home on the internet and can easily spread throughout the whole world in a matter of hours. There are lots of different types of viruses including harmless ones. The swine flu virus, however, is quite nasty and it's important you learn how to protect your computer from it.

Virus History

Viruses were always aimed at windows computers because this was the most popular operating system in the past. However, there are now operating systems which are aimed at other platforms. Currently, the swine flu computer virus has only been detected in Japan and, like many other viruses, affects windows computers.

Swine Flu Immunization

It is important to immunize your computer against all viruses including the swine flu virus. All computer viruses can cause damage to your computer and you must ensure you have a reliable antivirus scanner installed.

Antivirus scanners are very useful but you must also ensure that your antivirus application is fully updated. You must run the virus definition update application on your computer on a regular basis. New viruses, like the swine flu virus, are released on a daily basis so you must constantly update your computer to protect yourself.

You must also protect your computer from other threats including hackers by using firewalls and antispyware scanners. Most virus scanners are not able to detect and remove spyware which is why you will need a separate utility.

The security of your computer is very important since you enter lots of valuable information into it. If this information falls into the wrong hands then you could be left open to crimes on the internet. You might also find yourself suffering from identity theft which is a very serious problem that has the potential to affect all users on the internet.

How Viruses Work

There are many examples of computer viruses with new ones being mentioned in the news on a daily basis. There are a number of different types of malware, each of which works in a slightly different way.

Virus

A computer virus is quite simply a type of program which is designed to make your computer breakdown. These viruses are not friendly pieces of software and should be avoided at all costs.

Whenever your computer has a virus you will experience error messages and a slowdown of your computer function. Many viruses will also cause your computer to reset without warning which can make using it a real challenge.

To get rid of viruses you need to use anti-virus software as this will help to scan your computer and remove the threats. If you don't already have a virus scanner then you should get one straight away, you might even like to consider using free software.

Trojans

Trojans are similar to viruses but these are designed to sit on your computer silently. Unlike viruses, Trojans should not alert you to their presence. They also aren't capable of replicating themselves.

Trojans will then open a backdoor into your computer which hackers can use to gain control and spy on you. They can use this to monitor which sites you visit, what you type, and even turn your webcam on to get a good look at you.

Infection

Most computer viruses spread through the internet these days. In the past, computer viruses used to spread using removable media including floppy disks and USB drives. Although they can still spread in this manner, most virus infections are caused by the internet.

The internet makes it possible to share lots of different types of files very easily. Some of these can be infected with viruses and Trojans. Whenever you download one of these, installing it on your computer, then your computer can become infected.

Downloading from illegal sources such as warez will increase the risk of your computer contracting a nasty computer virus.

A virus works by tricking users into downloading it or installing infected files. Once a computer is infected with a computer virus the virus can then spread to all files in the computer. Whenever you share files with anyone else there is a good chance that you are spreading the infection. This is how they work and this is how they can manage to get around the world in a matter of hours.

The Common Types of Computer Viruses

Computer viruses are similar to biological viruses in the way they multiply in number and in the way they need a host to survive. However, in both scenarios there must be a cause, such a weak immune system or an expired anti-virus program, in order for the virus to penetrate and spread. Having a reliable anti-virus program is the best solution.

Just as a biological virus spreads by injecting its DNA into a host cell, whereas a computer virus needs to attach itself to a document or program to infect other computers and programs.

The way a computer virus infiltrates your PC depends on the type of virus it is. Because all computers viruses have their own features and factors that make them unique and dangerous to the health of your computer. Making it important than ever to learn about the different types of computer viruses lurking in the corners of cyberspace and on the fringes of your hard drive. The advantage of learning more about these computer viruses is two fold. First, you'll gain valuable knowledge, and second you'll be able to better prevent and deal with a computer virus when and if it preys your computer.

Due to the many different types of computer viruses, it can be confusing at times to diagnose what kind of virus your computer is suffering from. To make the identifying process easier, we've listed the three basic types of viruses that you will likely encounter.

These computer viruses include:

• Trojan Horses
• Worms
• Email Viruses

The Trojan virus gets its name from an incident that occurs in Homer's Iliad. Similar to how the Greeks in Homer's poem sent an army of men, hidden in a wooden horse, to the Trojans to get into the wall of the city. A Trojan horse appears to be nothing more than an interesting computer program or file, such as "saxophone.wav file" on the computer of user who's interested in collecting sound samples. The Trojan virus once on your computer, doesn't reproduce, but instead makes your computer susceptible to malicious intruders by allowing them to access and read your files. Making this type of virus extremely dangerous to your computer's security and your personal privacy. Therefore, you should avoid downloading programs or files from sites if you're not 100 percent positive of what the file or program does.

A Worm is a virus program that copies and multiplies itself by using computer networks and security flaws. Worms are more complex than Trojan viruses, and usually attack multi-user systems such as Unix environments and can spread over corporate networks via the circulation of emails. Once multiplied, the copied worms scan the network for further loopholes and flaws in the network. A classic example of a worm is the ILOVEYOU virus.

The best way you can protect yourself from worms is by updating your security patches. Operating systems and application vendors normally provide these patches. In addition, you should avoid opening email attachments from unknown senders.

Email viruses use email messages to spread. An email virus can automatically forward itself to thousands of people, depending on whose email address it attacks. To avoid receiving virus-laden emails, always check that your antivirus software is up-to-date and also stay clear of opening attachments, even from friends that you weren't expecting or don't know anything about. Also, block unwanted email viruses by installing a spam filter and spam blocker