A computer virus is a hidden piece of software within a computer which actively tries to copy itself in to yours without your knowledge. It does this by using the network the computer is connected to, trying to make copies on to removable disks, or by sending emails to email addresses it has found.
If you receive an email containing a virus, it will most likely not sent from any person or even from the email address it states, but directly from a virus running on a computer which has your email address stored on it. Most viruses can fake the from address.
A virus often contains a trojan house. This is a piece of the virus which would allow someone to get access to your machine remotely. The virus would send a message out to someone via the internet, saying its now ready for someone to remotely connect to your computer and access your information. The computer does all of this in the background without the user's knowledge.
Computers which have virus(s) running within it often appear to slow down and sometimes cause your system to crash. Some viruses deliberately attempt to destroy your computer by deleting system files, sometimes only at a specific pre-programmed date, or just after it has successfully copied itself to other computers.
The easiest method is to install anti-virus software. Once installed, you then need to do a complete system scan by using the anti-virus control panel, which can take a couple of hours. The scan will search out any viruses and give you the option of how you want them removed. Because some viruses embed themselves within normal system files, simply removing the virus can stop your computer from working.
Recommended anti-virus software
There are actually lots of "anti-virus" software which acts and looks like anti-virus software - it tells you that you have certain virus files in your computer, and warns you that certain web pages you were about to view has a virus, but the information is completely fake. This "anti-virus" software is actually a virus that has wormed its way on to your computer and pretending to be an anti-virus. It can be difficult to get rid of for the in-experienced user, as it blocks the use and download of real anti-virus software! Best advice: Get your friendly family computer expert to get rid of it. Personally, I recommend 'free AVG'. most 'free software' is not worth it, but myself and many professionals use AVG to keep their computer clean.
Software to AVOID:
- Personal antivirus
- Security tool
- Pavalin Antivirus
- XP Antivirus