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What is a computer virus?
A computer virus is a program
designed to spread itself by
infecting executable files or
system areas of hard drives or
floppy disks and then making
copies of itself. Viruses
usually operate without the
knowledge or desire of the
computer user.
What do viruses do to computers?
Viruses are software
programs. What these virus
programs actually do depends on
the intent of the person who
created the program. Some
are designed to damage files or
interfere with the operation of
the computer.
What is a Trojan horse program?
A Trojan horse is a type of
computer virus that pretends to
be something else. For
example, you might download what
you think is a new game; but
when you run it, it deletes
files on your hard drive.
Or, the third time you start the
game, the program e-mails your
saved passwords to another
person.
What about getting a virus
through e-mail?
It is now possible to get a virus just by
reading a plain-text e-mail
message. This is a
property of the KAK Worm
virus. What you also have to
watch out for are messages that
include an executable file
attachment.
In order to activate a virus or
a Trojan horse program, your
computer has to execute some
type of code. This could
be a program attached to an
e-mail, a word document that you
download from the internet, or
something received on a floppy
disk.
What are virus definitions?
Every time a new virus is
discovered, Symantec Corporation
creates a 'definition' of the
virus. This definition
allows your computer to scan for
that virus. Without the
definition, your computer will
not know what to look for while
scanning, and a virus could get
overlooked.
What can I do to reduce my
chances of getting a virus?
First and foremost, you need
virus protection on your
computer. We recommend
either Norton Antivirus or
McAfee Antivirus. Just
having the Antivirus program on
your computer is not
enough. You need to run
Live updates and at least
monthly scans of all program
files on your computer.
What is a Live Update?
Running a Live Update will keep
your virus definitions updated
and download any new definitions
that have come out since the
last time you updated
them. Without Live Update,
your computer will not scan for
any new viruses that are running
through the internet.
Currently, there are 63,439
viruses and Trojan horses known
to the computer world.
Every year there are hundreds of
new viruses created and spread
throughout the internet.
Every week there are new ones
discovered. A Live Update
should be performed at least
every two weeks to keep your
definitions up to date.
For more information about
Norton Antivirus, please visit
their site at http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/vinfodb.html.
For more information about
McAfee Antivirus, please visit
their site at http://www.mcafee.com.
Please note that copies of
Norton Antivirus 2002 are
available at Bibbens
Communications for $19.00 plus
tax.
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