Q: What is a computer virus?

A: A computer virus is a relatively small program that does certain things:

• Gets onto a computer hard disk without being invited or announcing its arrival.
• Lies in wait, later ambushing your computer when you do something innocent like turning on the computer or opening a software application.
• Reproduces itself so it can secretly spread to other parts of the hard disk, to diskettes or to other computers.
• May only print a nuisance message on your screen, but may cause serious vandalism.

A: Typical virus authors are thought to be men 16-28 years old with above-average computer programming skills. They're students, social drop-outs, disgruntled employees or terrorists. Excessive ego or raging revenge seem to compel these authors to brazenly shrug off the costly damage they cause. They might live anywhere in the world. There is more. Those criminals also have unleashed virus-like programs that cause damage in a suicide attack because they cannot reproduce themselves.

• Logic bombs wait until you take a specific action.
• Time bombs wait for an action on a certain date.
• Trojan horses appear to be a legitimate application and do their damage when the program is opened.
• Worms on the other hand, burrow through and between networks to change or overwrite data.

A: One important line of defense against viruses is to learn to "read" the look and feel of your machine. However, viruses aren't the only thing that can cause computer troubles. See the examples below:

• A user's operating mistake.
• An electrical surge on the power lines.
• Debris built up on the magnetic heads that read and write information to and from the computer's floppy diskettes. It's a good idea to use a head-cleaning kit, such as those available from 3M, since research shows that their use can reduce 80% of read-write errors and diskette formatting errors.
• Debris, a fungus, fingerprints, or condensation on a floppy diskette used in your computer. Don't be afraid to get a virus-control expert's advice on the diagnosis and cure. Check around at your work or computer dealer or for consultants in the phone book.

Go To | How Viruses Spread | Evading a Virus |

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