Cyber ​​crime is a widespread problem. So that Trojans, computer worms, program, macro and script viruses do not stand a chance on your computer, you should inform yourself sufficiently about appropriate precautionary measures and rely on a sophisticated antivirus program.

• Computer viruses usually get onto your computer unnoticed through downloads, third-party data carriers or spam e-mails.
• Malicious programs can infect both your computer’s hardware and software.
• The most important protective measures are a good antivirus program and be careful with unknown sources.

What is a virus

Abbreviated as CV by abbreviationfinder, a computer virus acts on your computer in a similar way to an influenza virus on the human organism. It disrupts the functionality and, in the worst case, completely incapacitates the computer. The virus is programmed by criminals and smuggled in in the form of files, documents, etc. These are distributed either indiscriminately or deliberately in order to damage a single computer, a specific system or large numbers of computers. The malicious program is passed on from host to host, and the virus can often self-replicate. Highly complex computer viruses are able to change their shape.

What types of viruses are there?

Examples of the most popular types of viruses are:

• The boot sector virus is spread via infected data carriers and becomes active when the computer starts.
• Program viruses are started when a host file with the extension .exe, .com or .dll is executed.
• Macro viruses can only be found in Word or Excel files.
• Script viruses are hidden in the scripts of websites and are often written in Javascript.
• Steath viruses are skilled stealth artists who, for example, pretend to be software that is already there. To do this, they copy file sizes and names, among other things, so that they can get into the system unhindered.
• Polymorphic viruses pose a particular challenge. After they have attacked a program, they change their signature and are therefore barely detectable by conventional virus scanners. If the user has caught a polymorphic virus, then the solution is usually a complete check of the entire program structure and the development of your own program against the virus.

What damage does a computer virus cause?

If the virus is activated, there are three possible follow-up scenarios. The most innocuous thing is the existence report, in which you learn about the presence of the malware through a message or an unusual signal. Most of the time, this type of computer virus doesn’t cause any further problems. The situation is different in cases in which data or hardware are manipulated and partially or completely destroyed.

Usually software or data are affected by the attacks. Either individual files or the entire hard disk are deleted. One possibility for hardware damage concerns, for example, the graphics card, which is overclocked by software, heated up and thus inoperable.

Is your computer already infected?

Computer owners fear that a computer virus will destroy all of their software or hardware. It need not come to that. First, the existing virus must be activated, depending on the type of malicious program happened differently. As long as this does not happen, the malware remains on your computer. If the computer is infected, but the virus is still dormant, now is the time to act. Signs that your computer has caught a virus are that the device has stopped responding, files or programs can no longer be opened, or file names have strange additions. There are various ways of protecting the computer from being infected with a virus in the first place. As with a human flu virus, prevention is better than cure or forbearance.

How do you protect your computer from malware?

A simple but effective protective measure is to ignore spam mail. The best thing to do is to delete it directly from the relevant folder. Anyone downloading should make sure that the source is completely trustworthy.

There is also the option of dividing a hard disk, for example into a part for the operating system and another with programs and files. Computer viruses from the Internet usually find their way into the system area. If the hard disk is partitioned, at least the rest of it is spared the attack. You should also back up your files regularly so that your data is not lost in a virus attack.

An anti-virus program is also essential . Even free tools provide good basic protection. Windows Defender also scores quite well in tests.