What is a Computer Virus?

How you know when your Computer is affected

Since the invention of computers, people have been wondering: What is a computer virus? A computer virus is a malicious coded program that spreads from one infected computer to another well-functioning machine. It interferes with the way a computer carries out its operations.

It might make it slow or act on its own. Several instances of an application program appear without being opened. It also corrupts all the data and information stored on the computer hard disk. This results in to a complete crash if fast measures are not taken. A computer operates by use of instructions known as Operating System.

This is stored in the hard disk of a computer. Once the set of instructions is corrupted a computer ceases to work normally. If you experience a problem where you switch on the machine and it fails to start, your computer might be affected by a virus or a number of viruses.

What is a computer virus? How do you detect its existence? An infected computer does not respond to instructions and “hangs” often. It also closes down frequently and restarts on its own. It is always annoying as it runs abnormally. Have you ever failed to see a removable disk after you had plugged it well on the computer?        A computer virus makes the disk drives inaccessible. It also makes application programs to disappear mysteriously.

If your antivirus was activated but all over a sudden it is disabled, your computer might be infected by a virus. Other symptoms to look out for include: ; unusual sounds from the speakers, printing or scanning becomes a problem, strange error messages, out of structure dialogue boxes and menus, strange desktop icons, double extensions on computer files you have opened, failure to install an antivirus program, etc. If you see some of these signs, you better find a solution.

It is important to note that these signs might also be as a result of hardware or software failure. You can never be too sure until you clean your computer with a trustworthy antivirus program.

What can you do to prevent a Virus?

After finding the answers to the question, what is a computer virus? What do you do next? It depends on how your computer is working. If you are suspecting that your computer is infected, the best cure and preventive measure is to install an anti-virus program. Not all of these programs are effective though.Therefore, it is important to obtain an up-to-date, tried and approved antivirus software. It has been proved that there are some anti-viruses that cannot detect certain viruses.

It is therefore wise to know the name of the virus infecting your computer. If your computer is already infected, the best thing is to contact a computer professional to ‘clean’ it for you. The professionals have different anti-virus software and can therefore do a thorough virus healing job.

How does a computer virus spread? Most computer viruses spread through the Internet. E-mailing has become a common mode of communication. It is through the attachments on the e-mail that computer viruses spread. To be on the safer side, avoid opening unknown e-mail attachments. They are disguised as very interesting files but you should overcome the temptation all the same. They appear as audio or video entertainment files which probe you to open. Love letters, greeting cards and warning messages are some of the files on the face value.

Now that you know the answer to the question: What is a computer virus? Avoid downloading software from any non-trustworthy source.
This is because computer viruses can be attached in such downloads. To prevent your computer from viruses, always be informed. Always!