In our interconnected communication world, the internet has become one of the premier mode and means of communication, data sharing and life streaming. But this interconnectedness has come with a price – malicious software known as ‘viruses’ populate the internet and our email inboxes. These software are a marvel in the present age because of the cautious complexity of their operation, yet the simplicity and effectiveness of their programming. Each and every virus that has affected the internet, like the ‘Melissa’ virus and the ILOVEYOU virus had a different kind of programming, but eventually had the same devastating effect on computers – total loss of productivity and peace of mind. Some of these viruses had such a complete shut down of productivity that they became a world phenomenon.
There are three major types of viruses.
Common virus:-
These software are small programs that fit into a single file or a program. They are coded to be an executable file (.exe extension) that when run do a lot of system damage, such as a hard drive format, operating system damage or a complete system lockout. They may spread as a simple program’s executable, but usually delete the normal program’s executable and piggyback on to the program. Many viruses, though, are absolutely harmless and only irritate the person (like change the desktop wallpaper to something insulting) but most are destructive and debilitating.
Trojan Horses:-
These are malicious software, in that they disguise themselves as an entire program and at run time, instead of serving their purpose, they destroy the victim’s important files and documents instead of say, running a game. They do not have any mechanism to replicate automatically, but they do an immense amount of damage by simply deceiving the victim into thinking that it is a harmless program.
Worms:-
These are tiny pieces of software that replicate themselves continuously over a network, and at a specified time of operation, they trigger a large system shutdown throughout the network. These are the most common, yet the most dangerous kinds of viruses there are since they almost always serve a malicious purpose. Each of them occupy a certain place in a large network that eventually crumbles down on their effect.
To guard against these malicious codes, an effective anti virus is necessarily required as it not only cleans up a malicious piece of software, but it also stands guard over the computer against more viruses.
