Computer viruses are malicious programmes designed to spread from one computer to another and to interfere with normal functioning of the Computer.
One notorious
virus is called ‘Friday the 13th’ virus. It is also called ‘Jerusalem”
virus, because it was first discovered at the University of Jerusalem in 1987. It gets activated every Friday that occurs on
the 13th of a month.
The first Computer
virus named ‘Brain’ was designed by Amjad Farooq Alvi and Basit Farooq Alvi, with
the intension of stopping the piracy of the software written by them.
How
does a Computer Virus Spread?
1.
INTERNET –
Through free games or softwares on many websites, e-mail attachments, etc.
2.
REMOVABLE
MEMORY DEVICES
–
Through Floppy disks, CDs, DVDs, Pen Drives,
etc.
3.
COMPUTER
NETWORK – Computer
Networks are groups of Computers linked together by a large computer called a
server. If a file being shared is virus- infected, it will quickly spread to
other users.
Virus
Symptoms –
Given below are a
few symptoms, which indicate a virus infection in a computer.
(i)
Computer running slower than
normal;
(ii)
The Computer re-starts on its own
in every few minutes;
(iii)
Unusual error messages are
displayed;
(iv)
Some of the applications start
malfunctioning;
A virus multiplies
itself and spreads through different programmes on a computer. But, viruses
cannot infect certain components of the computer. They cannot infect compressed
files, unless the file was infected prior to the compression. Viruses also do
not infect computer hardware, such as monitors or computer chips. They only
infect software. Examples of viruses are :- Randex, MrKlunky, Elf Bowling, Melissa,
Whale, Nuclear, Tequila, 8sec!Trojan, Gator, etc.
How to Keep Viruses at Bay :-
1. Take back up of important files frequently;
2. All files that come from an unknown source should be checked with an anti-virus program;
3. Every PC should be equipped with some antivirus programme, e.g. McAfee Virus Scan, QuickHeal Antivirus, AVG Antivirus and Norton Antivirus. Update your Antivirus software on a regular basis. Do this at least weekly and more often if there are news reports of a new virus threat;
4. Scan downloaded internet files with Antivirus software before using or running them and also scan all email attachments.
5. Install a firewall on you system to control incoming and outgoing network traffic.
AntiVirus Software :-
AntiVirus software
is a computer software which is used to identify an remove computer viruses. A
virus signature, also called a virus definition is a known specific pattern of
virus code. It is used by an Anti Virus Software to identify viruses.
Given below are the steps of how to operate the, QuickHeal AntiVirus program :
(i) Open the QuickHeal Antivirus software by Start --> All Programs --> QuickHeal Antivirus;
(ii) The QuickHeal AntiVirus software window appears;
(iii)
Click of SCAN icon;
(iv) A menu opens. Choose the desired option.
The Options are – Full system Scan,
Memory Scan, Custom Scan and Boot Time Scan.;
(v)
Once you choose the desired option,
the AntiVirus starts scanning the computer;
(vi)
If it detects any viruses, it will
be informed to the user. The files will be either deleted or it will isolate
them;
(vii)
When the scan process gets over, a
message is displayed: ‘ Scanning Completed Succesfully’.
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