Computer Solutions

Computer viruses, worms and Trojan Horses are classified as malware. They are malicious software programs that real people have created. These are programs that deliberately alter the computers operations leaving you, the user, vulnerable to their destruction and or breach of security. The "computer virus" has quickly become an all encompassing expression among users. There are actually several different categories of viruses and each category is a potentially damaging computer program that affects, infects, a computer without the user's knowledge/permission and deliberately interferes with the computers operations. They spread throughout the computer and damage files, system software, and even the operating system. Whether your computer is protected or not there is a realistic chance that one if not a series of them can infect your computer.

Viruses infect your computer by running executable code on your system. They are potentially damaging. The virus program hides in a file that reaches your computer through any storage mediums such as a thumb drive(flash memory device) , or a disk(cd-rom, hard-drive) or through networking( Internet, e-mail attachment) . Pictures, music and video files can also be infected. They can infect your computer and to make matters worse, infect others that you may have shared with.

Adware is one of the least intrusive of all malware. It is a program that displays an advertisement while online. It is a banner or commonly known as a pop-up window on Internet web pages, e-mails. The point of this malware is to get you to buy something. Most times they are just annoying.

Spyware is as it sounds and is very dangerous to have running on your computer. It is a program that secretly collects information about the user. Once infected, it can steal the most sensitive data such as passwords, contact lists, and documents. It will lay in-wait for you to type in the password to your trusted web-site such as a bank , pharmacy, insurance provider or any of a number of social networks. While you are on-line, it takes the information it collected and forwards it to an outside source.

A Trojan horse is a small program designed to give access to an unauthorized user. It is usually disguised as a legitimate program and is triggered by certain conditions of action. Unlike a virus or a worm, the Trojan horse does not replicate itself to other computers.

A worm is a program that copies itself repeatedly. It is self-replicating and uses the computers network and/or the Internet to copy themselves onto other computers. They seek out computers with security flaws then slip in to infect them. They commonly use up the computers recourses and can possibly shut down the network or even the computer.

A rootkit is the hardest virus to detect. It is a collection of programs that enable administrator-level access(privileged) to a computer or other machines on the network. It may contain spyware that can monitor your traffic and keystrokes. It can create a "backdoor" for the hacker to enter and it can alter existing system tools to keep from being discovered.