Computer Infections

types of computer

Computer infections can be broken up in to four main categories which are explained in detail below:

Viruses

Worms

Computer Viruses are tiny pieces of program that attach themselves to actual programs. An example would be a virus that attaches itself onto windows explorer. Each time you run the program windows explorer the virus will even be executed and perform the function that it was meant to perform. This can be several things such as damaging files on your computer, or erasing all of them together. This is also the time in which the virus will try to spread itself onto other programs and even other computers!

A worm like a virus is a tiny piece of program. However worms then relying on an outside program to function, will run themselves over computer networks and security holes to spread. The worm will scan the network from it is host computer until it finds another computer that it can attach itself to. It will then continue this process to replicate. Because this type of infection runs by itself it can have devastating impacts. The Mydoom worm is estimated to have infected over a quarter million computers in a single day when it first launched back in March 1999.
types of computer

Trojan Horses

A Trojan horse is a computer programs that claims to be thing, but is actually another. For example you might receive a Trojan horse that is disguised as an picture, but when you go to open the file, it will do whatever it is that it was written to do.

E-mail Viruses

Electronic mail Viruses are common. They work by spreading themselves through electronic mail messages. One time they infect a computer, they will then go ahead and replicate themselves by automatically mailing out again to everyone in the victim's e-mail address book. Several of these virus's have raced through the world wide web. Examples of electronic mail virus's are the Melissa Virus, and the ILOVEYOU virus.

types of computer