ViruS ComPuTeR

Computer Virus Hoax Guide

Viruses are a huge risk to people who use computers. There are lots of reasons why many people believe that they may have a computer virus on their computer. If your computer is slower than it used to be or is suffering from lots of errors then you may have a computer viruses.

Viruses are a major problem which will affect most computer users at least once in their lifetime. To avoid these computer viruses it is essential that you have a reliable virus scanner installed and fully operational. You must also ensure that the virus scanner is fully updated.

Virus Hoax

Virus hoaxes are a fairly new phenomenon and are increasingly common. If you spend any time reading news on the internet then you will be fully aware of virus hoaxes. Most virus hoaxes are spread using emails and are designed to scare the recipient. These messages will make someone believe that their computer is infected with a virus even though it isn't.

How These Hoaxes Work

These virus hoaxes are very clever and will normally instruct you that your computer has become infected with a virus. They will then tell you that they need to delete particular files. There will be a list of instructions included which detail how to delete the file.

The file that you are asked to delete are essential to the health of your computer. If you delete these files then your computer won't be able to start up or work properly. These virus hoaxes work very well because people are worried about their computer being infected with viruses.

Some of these hoaxes will also expose you to viruses. They may suggest that you need to download a virus scanner to help repair your computer. These virus scanners will add extra viruses to your computer which will cause damage.

Spotting Hoaxes

There are a number of things that you can look out for to identify hoax virus emails. First, realize that if you ever get an email telling you that your computer is infected then it's almost certainly a hoax.

These hoaxes can also happen on websites where they claim to scan through your computer. Many of these are also fakes, since there is no way they can scan your computer unless you also download something to your computer through an official website like McAfee or Norton.

Also, if you ever receive emails telling you that you need to send the message on to everyone then you know this is a fake. This is an example of a chain letter.

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.

The Most Vicious Viruses in History

Not all computer programmers are nice and kind. Some computer programmers write viruses. A computer virus is simply a malicious program which is designed to cause harm to the information stored on your computer or to the computer itself. However, not all computer viruses are actually dangerous.

What is a Virus?

Some viruses are a pain but not really that lethal. The simple definition of a virus is that it does something that your computer is not normally supposed to do. This could be as simple as showing a dialog box or various other things.

What the virus is capable of will depend on what it was actually designed to do. There are a number of viruses and all of these will work in a slightly different way. One well known virus is called I-ray. This virus works by copying and replicating files on your computer. Although this doesn't initially cause a problem, after a while it could potentially crash your computer.

Spyware

When talking about vicious viruses many people fail to mention spyware. Although spyware does not always cause that much harm to your computer, it does put your information at risk. If you have spyware on your computer then it could mean your identity is at risk.

Spyware and Adware are perhaps the most common types of viruses which spread through the internet. Although these don't cause that much harm to your computer, they can cause your security to be compromised.

Adware can also make the internet very slow for your computer and can leave your children exposed to unsavory adverts.

Adware will cause popup windows to appear on your computer. Browser hijackers can also change the homepage of your web browser. This might not be a problem, but if you try to change it back you may not be able to. This can be very frustrating when trying to surf the internet.

Famous Viruses

There are a number of very famous viruses which caused many thousands of dollars worth of damage on computers all around the world. Some of these are:

Blaster Worm

The Blaster Worm struck in 2003. It affected Computers running Windows XP, NT and Server 2003. This worm was very dangerous because it was able to spread and infect computers so quickly. It could identify any machine which was vulnerable and then infect it.

The main aim of the virus was to attack the Microsoft Windows update site. It also caused many computers to reset on a regular basis which frustrated users. The worm managed to spread to half a million computers. It was considered such a threat that Microsoft offered a $250,000 reward for information.

Melissa

Melissa was a dangerous virus which struck in 1999. It spread through word document attachments. The virus wasn't really that damaging although it did replicate itself if you used Outlook Express.

This caused a lot of damage to companies as it was the first virus which was capable of spreading through email. The virus is thought to have caused over $80 million in damage.

Melissa was created by David Smith and he was arrested just a week after Melissa had been released.

Viruses are dangerous and you must protect your computer from them. Ensure that you install a reliable antivirus scanner so your computer doesn't suffer from virus problems.

The History of the Computer Virus

When we think about computer viruses and their creation, the way they work, where they come from and the problems they create, we believe that it is a recent phenomenon that has threatened the PC world to a great extent today. But the actual truth is that computer viruses have been around for longer than most people might think.

The first computer virus popularly known as the 'Brain virus' was created in 1986 by two Pakistani brothers, Amjad and Basit Farooq Alvi. This virus, which spread via floppy disks, was known only to infect boot records and not computer hard drives like most viruses today. The virus also known as the Lahore, Pakistani, Pakistani Brain, Brain-A and UIUC would occupy unused space on the floppy disk so that it could not be used and would hide from detection. It would also disguise itself by displaying the uninfected bootsector on the disk.

In 1987, the Lehigh virus was discovered at Lehigh University in the United States. The Lehigh virus was the first memory resident file infector that attacked executable files and took control when a file was opened. The Jerusalem virus also appeared around this time at Hebrew University in Israel. Like the Lehigh virus, the Jerusalem virus was also a memory resident file infector. It contained bugs to re-infect programs that were already infected.

In March 1988, the first anti-virus was designed to detect and remove the Brain virus. The anti-virus also immunized floppy disks to get rid of the Brian infection. At the same time, the Cascade virus appeared in Germany. The Cascade virus was the first encrypted virus, which was coded and could not be changed or removed.

Thus, during the late 1980's and the early 1990's, viruses on the loose which infected files, disks etc. on the computer and caused a great deal of damage received a lot of media attention. Magazines such a Business Week, Newsweek, Fortune, PC magazine, and Time began publishing articles about these destructive viruses running wild and demanded a solution for all these problems.

In 1991, Symantec released the Norton Anti-virus software. Anti-virus products from IBM, McAfee, Digital Dispatch and Iris also became available.

A few years ago, in 2000, the ILOVEYOU virus wreaked havoc around the world. The virus that was created in the Philippines was sent through email and spread around the world in one day infecting 10 percent of computers connected to the Internet and causing $ 5.5 billion dollars in damage. Hence, viruses are still common and still create chaos even today. It is hard to determine the reasons for all these actions and why virus writers create computer viruses. Some do it for their personal gain, for research projects, pranks, vandalism, etc., while others want to help make improvements in programs