- Computer virus
A virus has been described as a malicious program that is targeted at a computer system in order to disrupt the normal operation of the operating system (Yang, Mishra and Liu, 1). When a particular virus attacks a computer, it executes itself and propagates itself throughout the important areas of the computer system including the Master Boot Record (MBR) on hard drives, data files and even other legitimate programs in the operating system by replication.
The objective of a virus attack ranges from criminal intent to amusement. Some viruses are aimed at harvesting sensitive personal identity and financial information or logging user key strokes in order to perpetrate fraud. Some are targeted at making the computer resources unavailable for the use of legitimate users (Denial of Service). Some hackers also write virus programs just for the fun of it. In all these however, a virus attack will only be successful with the intervention of the user, although inadvertently. A virus program will just reside on the computer without causing any harm when it has not been executed (or triggered). Oftentimes the virus program is disguised as a legitimate file or program that is executed by the user.
Viruses have different means through which they infect a computer system. The use of removable storage media such as Compact Discs (CD ROMs) and flash drives in exchanging information can easily transmit a virus from one system to another. Recent means of infection exploit the internet to transmit the virus program. One of such modes via the internet is electronic mail (e-mail). The ‘Melissa’ virus ravaged many e-mail systems in the year 1999. The virus was circulated as an e-mail attachment and was downloaded by unsuspecting e-mail users. The virus replicated itself and propagated through the internet by e-mailing itself to the first 50 contacts on the victim’s address book. This actually tied down internet resources with the amount of traffic built up on the internet within a very short time. This forced many big companies and organisations to disable their e-mail systems until a solution was found to address the virus problem.
- Securing a computer from virus attack
Different methods abound to prevent a virus attack and safeguard computer operating systems and the resources therein from infection. Since most virus attacks exploit the vulnerabilities of operating systems known as bugs (Al Daoud, Jebril and Zaqaibeh, 1), it is important to always update the operating system with the latest patches and security fix. This will guarantee there are no loopholes that a virus program can exploit to attack a computer.
The most popular security measure today is the use of antivirus softwares. Antivirus softwares are programs written to identify and eliminate known viruses when it encounters an infected file or executable program. The antivirus software maintains a database of known viruses and their signatures (or virus definition). It compares files against these signatures to detect similarities in the characteristics of the infected file and the known signatures. Since viruses vary in their modes of attack and propagation and new viruses are released frequently, the virus definition databases are updated frequently too. For a user to be fully protected from attacks, it is important to constantly update the antivirus definitions database.
Another means of security that cannot be overlooked is dependent on the user. Since viruses do not get activated unless there is user intervention, users should also be wary of the files they open and the programs they execute. Not opening e-mails that are not from trusted sources can go a long way in avoiding a potential virus attack.
- Conclusion
The threats posed by viruses to the security of computer systems and data are real and incessant. New attacks aimed at stealing sensitive user information and denying the use of computer resources are launched almost every day. Efforts at identifying and eliminating virus infections are also constantly in place. The security of a user from such attacks however, ultimately lies with the user.
Works Cited
Al Daoud,Essam, Jebril, Iqbal H. and Zaqaibeh, Belal. "Computer Virus Strategies and Detection Methods". International Journal of Open problems in Computer Science and Mathematics, 1.2 (2008): 122 - 129. El. Print.
Yang, Xiaofan, Mishra, Bimal Kumar and Liu, Yanbing. “Computer Virus: Theory, Model and Methods”. Editorial. Discrete Dynamics in Nature and Society. Hindawi Publishing Corporation. 22 November, 2012: El. Print.
