What is a Computer Virus?

In laymen's terms, a computer virus is a piece of programming that is designed and intended to adversely affect your computer's normal functioning.

How are Computer Viruses Spread?

Viruses are spread in many ways, but the most common way is over the Internet.

Some viruses arrive as email attachments, others can be contained in music or other files shared over peer-to-peer file-sharing networks, and sill others (known as "worms") simply slither in over unfirewalled Internet connections. Once one machine on a local network is infected, many viruses can also infect other machines on that network.

Viruses can also be spread via floppy disks, jump drives, or CD's containing infected files.

What kind of damage do Computer Viruses Do?

The damage caused by viruses can range from very little, as in "joke" viruses that merely cause a computer to do some unexpected or annoying thing; to massive, as in the case of viruses that steal passwords or other personal data, create "backdoors" allowing someone else to control your PC, or destroy valuable data. A few viruses have even been able to infect a computer's BIOS, rendering the machine useless.

Protecting Your Computer from Viruses

The best way to protect yourself from computer viruses is to follow these rules:

• Get a good, high-quality virus scanner and keep it up-to-date. Our favorite is Trend Micro PC-cillin Internet Security, which offers all-in-one virus, spyware, messaging, firewalling, wireless, and PDA protection.

• Stay informed about viruses and other security threats.

• Keep your computer up-to-date by visiting the Windows Update site regularly, or setting your computer to receive updates automatically if you are using Windows Me, Windows 2000, or Windows XP.

• Scan all email attachments for viruses before opening them.

• Avoid software from questionable sources.

• Avoid peer-to-peer file sharing networks (Kazaa, Limewire, Bear-Share, etc.).

• Use a good firewall to prevent worm attacks.