Software Blog

Before we can comprehend how a computer virus works, it is important to realise what a virus does when it attacks the human body. Viruses are microorganisms that can only multiply within another living cell. It is the cause of many illnesses and diseases and is destructive to the cell or body in which it lives.

Viruses are toxins and are therefore toxic to the human cells, they divide within the body causing illnesses such as chickenpox and German measles. In relation to computers, a computer virus is a harmful computer program which is able to duplicate and spread itself within a computer or computer network and will damage files or the computer itself. The computer virus can be anywhere on your pc, usually hidden within a program, file or document.

Criminals, and other talented idiots with nothing better to do with their time, create these viruses and spread them to other people’s computers. Causing havoc is the main reason for doing this. Files and documents can be severely damaged when a computer virus enters the computer, similar to the effects of influenza upon the human body. Computer viruses can affect every part of the computer preventing it from working properly. It can spread itself through the Internet and through local computer networks, as well as through removable storage devices such as memory sticks and floppy disks. As it is concealed and difficult to identify, it can be inadvertently passed on to other computer users.

Akin to a human virus that makes a person feel unwell, the computer virus works in a similar fashion within a computer. What each type of ‘digital virus’ will do to your computer depends on what it has been programmed to do, it can be very harmful, while others are created to simply annoy and will literally make your computer ’sick’. Examples of terms used to describe different types of computer viruses include Macro Viruses, Email Viruses and Trojan Horses. It will be easier to protect your computer against viruses, once you have an understanding of the workings of computer viruses.