Computer Virus

Lesson objectives
 definition of computer virus
 state the types of computer virus
 describe sources through which computer can be infected
 name seven virus warning signs
 state virus detection/prevention and treatment

keywords: malware, replicate, program/software, malfunction, intent, data/files

Definition
A computer virus can be defined as:
a malware program or software that, when executed, replicates by inserting copies of
itself into other computer programs, data files, or the boot sector of the hard drive; when
this replication succeeds, the affected areas are then said to be "infected".

Harmful activities of virus

Viruses often perform some type of harmful activity on infected hosts, such as:
• stealing hard disk space or CPU time,
• accessing private information,
• corrupting data,
• displaying political or humorous messages on the user's screen,
• spamming their contacts, or logging their keystrokes.

Types of viruses
A computer virus can be of various types such as:
• Boot Sector Virus
• Macro Virus
• Multipartite Virus
• Polymorphic Virus
• Directory Virus
• Trojan horse
• Memory Resident Virus
• Worms
• Logic Bombs/Time bombs
• Resident virus
• Overwrite virus

Examples of computer virus

There are several types of computer viruses obstructing the workability of computers.
Some of the known viruses include:
 • Logic bomb virus
• December 24th virus
• ABC virus
• Opey-A virus
• Trojan horse
• South African virus
• Dark Avenger virus
• I Love You virus
• W32.ibim virus
• Data crime virus

Sources Through Which Computer Can Be Infected

Sources of computer security breaches are:
• Opening of files containing viruses, worms & Trojan horses
• Poor implementation of network
• Poor implementation of ICT policies
• Carelessness or user’s negligence
• Hackers, spammers or breach of security
• Deliberate divulgence of company’s information
• Downloading of files from untrusted websites.
• Eavesdropping
• Privilege escalation
• Tampering attack
• Denial of service
• Spoofing attack

Virus warning signs

Virus warning signs includes:
• The computer begins to run slowly.
• Unknown files or sub-directories are created.
• The sizes of total and free memory are changed unexpectedly.
• Music, not associated with any of the current programs, begins to play.
• Some of the program and/or data files either get corrupted or become difficult to
locate.
• There is incomplete saving of files.
• The computer fails to boot.

Classification of viruses
Viruses can be classified by their habitat. The two classes of computer viruses are:
• Parasitic Viruses which begin when the executable file to which they are present
is run.
 • Boot Sector Viruses enjoy the hard drives section. Once the computer reads the
boot sector, the viruses become ruinously or harmfully active.
Viruses has two phases, vis-à-vis:
• Infection phase,
• Active phase.

Virus Prevention And Treatment

Use an updated version of any trusted and reputable anti-virus software. For e.g.
• Bull Guard,
• Dr. Panda, Dr. Solomon,
• Dr. Web,
• Avira,
• Quick Heal,
• McAfee,
• Norton,
• Kaspersky,
• AVG,
• Avast,
• Bit defender

Extended Learning
1. List 20 virus examples you know.

2. Explain two classes of viruses.

3. Classify the 20 examples above into the two classes mentioned.