What is a computer virus?

Answer 1

Virus is the programming file....

A computer "virus" is a program that runs on your computer doing things you would not want it to do. Typically, this will involve doing damage to your hard drive, or sending mail without your permission. A virus gets on to your computer usually when you connect to the internet. Browsing the Internet sometimes calls for small programs to be downloaded to your computer, and they run there to help make the whole thing you are looking at go quicker or easier. Some of these, however have been put there to drop a little "extra" program onto your system, which will then deliberately mess things up. You can sometimes have a virus that hasn't yet hurt anything, but is waiting for a moment or date in time when it will be activated. The best way to insure that you don't have a virus is to buy virus scan software, have it on your system, and have it scanning your system periodically. This virus scan software can delete virus's automatically, and prevent new ones from getting onto your system. A virus is code that duplicates itself through a host in another words a computer. Viruses alter or delete files and other data. They also can send them selves to other computers via the infected computers email or network. A virus is code that tries to travel from computer to computer by attempting to copy itself, hide itself, and send itself to others. Most of the time, viruses will also have harmful effects, depending on what the exact virus is. One hypothetical example is a virus that changes your Windows user password to "slug bug".

Infection by viruses and other harmful software can be prevented largely by the use of specialized software and by not running any programs unless you're absolutely sure of what they are, especially ones that attempt to be downloaded to your computer from websites, or in email.

Note that not all harmful software is technically a virus; only ones that attempt to become duplicated and spread across multiple computers. A computer virus is a malicious software that enters your computer via email or downloading files.

A parasitic program written intentionally to enter a computer without the users permission or knowledge. The word parasite is used because a virus attaches to files or boot sectors and replicates itself, thus continuing to spread. Though some virus's do little but replicate others can cause serious damage or effect program and system performance. A virus should never be assumed harmless and left on a system." -Symantec

A functional definition of a computer virus must include the fact that it creates damage to the computer system "infected"; either inadvertently or deliberately. This definition is somewhat simplified and does not cover all virus types, but is sufficient to show the major differences between viruses and so called "Trojan" programs, which is that the virus replicates, but the Trojan program does not. A computer virus is a software that enters your computer via email or downloading. A computer virus can be classified as any program or other piece of code that is written to disrupt the normal operation of a computer. The severity of the disruption ranges from minor annoyances, like displaying silly or distracting messages, to very destructive. Listing all the possible symptoms that a virus can cause is outside the scope of this question, but suffice it to say that a majority of them are towards the destructive end of the scale. In order to protect your computer from viruses, you must ensure you have an anti virus program installed, and that it is constantly updated. Some of the more common anti virus programs are Norton Anti Virus, McAfee Anti Virus, AVG, and Trend Micro to name a few. Regardless of which software you are using, or choose to install, they all need to be updated at least daily. These updates contain new and updated virus signatures. Without these updates, the software will be unable to detect newer viruses as they come out. In addition to installing anti virus software on your PC, you must also make sure your operating system is up to date. If you are using a Microsoft Windows operating system, you should regularly check windows update for updates, and install all the critical updates. Many viruses spread through security vulnerabilities in Windows that have already been addressed by Microsoft via a patch. If you do not use Windows Update, it is possible you can be infected with a virus through one of these vulnerabilities. Having up to date anti virus software, and an up to date operating system does not guarantee that you will never be infected with a virus, but the chances are much lower. A computer virus is a software that enters your computer via email or downloading files. A computer virus is a program that harms or leads to the harm of your computer. You can get one by downloading it when viewing the Internet or double clicking on an attachment sent to you.

A virus is a computer program that piggybacks or attaches itself to application programs or other executable system software.

A computer virus is a software program that has been intentionally created to cause a user grief, spread to other computers, or destroy data on an individual's computer. To help prevent a computer from becoming infected by a virus, software developers have developed antivirus programs that stay active on the computer helping to protect it.