Computer Virus Expository

Computer Virus “A true virus cannot spread to another computer without human assistance.” Computer virus has now become widespread. It’s almost everywhere in every computer. It is one of the major problems of the computer users. Viruses are like the disease of the computer. Letting the virus in it can cause harm or even destroy all files stored in the computer. Virus infection costs millions even billions of money if virus penetrates into major servers like government database system, bank and airport systems. Computer virus can destroy, control or even steal information without the knowledge of the user. There are three kinds of computer virus. First kind is the Trojan horse; it pretends to be a legitimate program. It attaches itself to a program then executes itself. Named after the Greek army’s tactic of hiding their soldiers in a giant wooden horse. This virus does not multiply but rather make the computer’s protection weaker and more susceptible to other threats. Second kind is the worm, is has a self replicating ability that spreads itself through computer network. It search for loopholes in the network copies itself and reaches another computer in the network. This kind of virus invades the kernel of the computer that makes it halt and become slow. It replicates in drastic number that make duplicates of files that cause confusion in the computer user. The third kind is the malware; it is a malicious program that steals information from the computer and the user. Steal personal information like bank accounts, credit card numbers and other information that can be used against you. This information is being used by hackers to generate money and make fraud. The program also downloads other files and viruses into the computer. There are also other kind, unusual kind of viruses that is less encountered by common computer users. These viruses may be found in corporations and companies for conspiracy. This is the rabbit/wabbit and the logic bombs.