By Alexander smart. What is a viruses ? A Computer Virus is a software program that is designed to copy itself over and over again. Viruses do NOT damage.

By Alexander smart

What is a viruses ? A Computer Virus is a software program that is designed to copy

itself over and over again. Viruses do NOT damage the hardware. They affect the data and

programs stored on your computer. The viruses can be a programme that is designed to destroy files on

your computer and also they can corrupt your hard drive and external hard drive.

How do they spread? They spread by attachments like

e-mail and also they are spread over the internet. E.g. =

floppy disk memory stick CDROM DVD

How can they be removed? As computer viruses became more of a

menace, companies began to develop software to detect and remove them. These were named 'anti-virus software'.

There are a number of anti-virus programs available for wiping out  viruses for example Norton, McAfee.

Legislation It is against the law to distribute a virus to others. The law which covers this area is called The Computer

Misuse Act (1990). It also covers various computer crimes such as Hacking, computer fraud as well as the deliberate spread of viruses.

This law specifies a virus as: 'unauthorised modification of the contents of a computer, impairing the operation of any program or reliability of data'.

Anyone caught distributing viruses knowingly faces an unlimited fine and up to a five year prison sentence.

Other pests WormsThese are a bit like a computer virus but they

spread on their own through computer networks.Adware / SpywareThese are programs designed to keep track

of which adverts you click on

Preventing infection This be prevented by :

Using anti-virus software to scan your system daily or weekly

Not opening attachments from people that you don't know (or attachments which look suspicious)

Also you can use filtering software to prevent automatic downloads on the internet.