What is virus and how they spread?

A virus will function as an element that will constitute damage to the hard disk contents or interfere with the normal operational executions of the computer system. This will cause the computer to be unable to function properly until the virus is eliminated and the overall system is overhauled and rebooted. 

A virus program is usually able to replicate itself and this too is an added problem once the virus latches on to a system. Progressively getting out of control, the virus will attempt to cause as much damage as possible before it can be detected and eliminated. The replication is usually intentional and designed to act just like a Trojan, thus causing the unsuspecting user being caught off guard. If a file that contains a virus is opened, or copied onto another computer, then the other computer will also become infected and this process is repeated every time the file is opened and downloaded onto other systems. A virus can easily be introduced into a computer system along with any software program and this is bad news for the users of FTP otherwise referred to as file transfer protocol. The viruses can also become a problem when there is referencing done and email attachments are being used. When the virus enters the computer system, it can attach itself to, or even replace an existing program. This of course is not good for the user, who will ultimately open the attachment or file and cause the virus to be activated. 

How They Get Around 

The following are some of the more frequent ways that viruses can spread form computer system to another effectively until detection is almost too late to save the infected material:

 • Email attachments are by far the most popular way that viruses find their way into the user’s computer system. When the Microsoft’s Outlook Express automatically opens attachments to emails received, the virus in automatically unleashed on the system. However, most users now tend to avoid opening attachments they are unfamiliar with and instead resort to immediately deleting them to ensure the virus does not gain access into the system.

 • Rogue websites are another problem area for unleashing viruses. Sometimes the virus is introduced into the system by simply visiting websites without knowing the possibility of the virus being embedded in the site’s content. Thus when the site is downloaded, so will be the virus too.

 • Networks are also another popular way the virus is able to gain some momentum, as any user on the same server opening a site where there is a virus will unleash the virus onto other user’s systems too. It usually takes only one party to accidently open an infected site and all the other users on the network will be exposed to the virus infecting their systems too.

 • Infected disks are sometimes the cause of the virus spreading, as the user of the infected disk is the source of the hard drive being infected and thus corrupting all the material on the hard drive itself.