A computer virus is often a piece of code that was inserted in an application, program or system. It is for example sent in an e-mail attachment to a person who by clicking on it triggers it to attack. The virus then replicates, it spreads copies of itself from computer to computer to cause the most damage.
Computer viruses can damage your computer
It can be used to damage program, delete files and reformat you hard drive. This can have as a result reduce performance. Or it can crash even your entire system.
Not always is the harm done on your own computer
A computer virus is always harmful but, the damage is not always necessarily done on your computer itself. Your computer may also become an instrument in an attack to harm larger computer systems of a company, a bank, a public service or even a Hospital.
This can be for example in the form of a DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack. In such an attack, the infected computers are used to all visit for instance the website of a bank at the same time and with this causing so much traffic on the website that the normal daily operation is not possible anymore.
Cyber attacks cost a lot of money
A cyber attack cost the community a lot of money, money we all have to pay in one form or another. Sometimes it can even be that the cyber criminals send a ransom demand to the company to stop the attack.
Always be vigilant and use a good antivirus program
You can understand that is very essential to be always vigilant and pay attention. Further it is important to use a good antivirus program that can stop a virus from doing any harm. This antivirus program needs to be updated regularly. And of course the virus definitions (the list of known viruses and how they work) must be updated automatically, as new viruses emerge and are identified every day.
Want to know more about the best security suite for your computer? We have made it easy: Read our top-5 antivirus software of April 2024.
