Understanding Malware and How it Effects Your Computer

Whenever you see a word that starts with mal, it is a literal sign that something is bad. The common definition for malware is programs or files that are developed for the purpose of doing harm. Malware includes computer viruses, worms and Trojan horses (known as Trojans). It is far to easy these days while surfing the Internet to run across malware. 

Let us start with viruses. One primary characteristic a piece of software must possess to qualify, as a virus is a programmed-in urge to reproduce. It must include some mechanism for distributing copies of itself. Another characteristic common to viruses is that they are covert and do not advertise their presence or their attentions – namely viruses arrive on systems with their own agendas, and act on their own without any instructions or permission being sought from the users of the machines they occupy. Like biological viruses, computer viruses seek to exploit systems for their own purposes. They arrive uninvited, hide in secrecy, and generally work in obscurity. 

A common definition given to a virus is a program or programming code that replicates by being reproduced or initially, it is copying to another program, computer boot sector or document. Viruses can be transferred in the form of attachments to an e-mail note or downloaded file; or be present on a diskette or possibly onto a CD. Generally speaking, viruses hide in computer files rather than sitting out in the open, in some obvious, visible and separate form. A virus though must run, a computer must execute the code out of which they are programmed to do their dirty The most effective way of fending off viruses is to inspect all files and media that enter a system, looking for signs of potential infection, and refusing to copy any potentially infected files into memory or storage. 

There are three specific types of viruses: 

· File infectors: that are capable of planting themselves (particularly, the code they need to execute) inside another file in a computers' file system.