Computer Viruses

In this post about Viruses and AntiVirus software, I'm first going to introduce 3 different types of "bad software" (I'm not covering adware, spyware or malware in this post, but will have a separate post on that subject http://atotalnetworksolution.com/blog/2008/malware-description/.)

Computer virus
A computer virus is a piece of code that is secretly introduced into a system in order to corrupt it or destroy data. Often viruses are hidden in other programs or documents and when opened, the virus is let loose.

Trojan horse
This is a program that disguises itself as another program. Similar to a virus, these programs are hidden and cause an unwanted effect. They differ from viruses because they are normally not designed to replicate like a virus.

Worm
This is a special type of virus that spreads without any user interaction, typically by exploiting a flaw in popular software.

All three of these types of bad software are generally lumped under the term "virus" and all are combatted by using a piece of AntiVirus softare (more on that below) so from now on, I'll just use the term virus.

Viruses (or virii) usually use some manner of replication, or copying from system to system, hence the term "virus". Some viruses are merely annoying and pop up little messages, while others are very damaging and can wipe out data on your computer.

It is important to use a good AntiVirus software program on your computer. Almost as important as having one is keeping it up to date. What does that mean? New viruses come out every day. AntiVirus companies put out updates on at least a weekly basis. A few years ago an acquaintance called me thinking he had gotten a virus. I started looking at his computer and found that he had gotten one, even though he had an AntiVirus program (and a fairly good one) on his computer. The problem was, that it hadn't been updated in 3 months, and the virus he had "contracted" was one that had come out since then. He was fortunate that it was one that didn't attack user data, just the operating system. I had to rebuild his computer with a new hard drive, then copy his information over, he was a professional photographer, and all of his photos were on that hard drive. It took about 7-8 hours to get his system back up operational. All that work (and panic on his part) could have been avoided if he had kept his AntiVirus on up to date.

I would like to take this opportunity to recommend BitDefender AntiVirus. BitDefender is great for home, small office and companies. It was ranked the number one performing AntiVirus software by PC World, anti-virus-software-review.com, and www.starreviews.com. It is less expensive than most other AntiVirus software products on the market. Email me at randydover@gmail.com if you are interested in buying BitDefender, for home or business.