Pc virus descriptions

Trojans can be viruses. A Trojan could be a seemingly benign file downloaded off the web or a Word doc attached to an email. Think that movie you downloaded from your favorite P2P sharing site is safe? Think twice, because they could contain a virus. Is a worm a virus? Worms are not viruses, though the terms are sometimes used interchangeably. Even worse, the terms are sometimes used together in a strange and contradictory word salad; i.

As mentioned earlier, a virus needs a host system to replicate and some sort of action from a user to spread from one system to the next. Once on a system, worms are known to drop malware often ransomware or open a backdoor. Is ransomware a virus? Ransomware can be a virus. In fact, the very first ransomware was a virus more on that later. Nowadays, most ransomware comes as a result of computer worm, capable of spreading from one system to the next and across networks without user action e.

Is a rootkit a virus? Rootkits are not viruses. Is a software bug a virus? Software bugs are not viruses. A software bug refers to a flaw or mistake in the computer code that a given software program is made up of. Software bugs can cause programs to behave in ways the software manufacturer never intended.

The Y2K bug famously caused programs to display the wrong date, because the programs could only manage dates through the year After the year rolled over like the odometer on an old car to While the Y2K bug was relatively harmless, some software bugs can pose a serious threat to consumers.

Cybercriminals can take advantage of bugs in order to gain unauthorized access to a system for the purposes of dropping malware, stealing private information, or opening up a backdoor. This is known as an exploit. Preventing computer viruses from infecting your computer starts with situational awareness.

By staying on the lookout for phishing attacks and avoiding suspicious links and attachments, consumers can largely avoid most malware threats. Regarding email attachments and embedded links, even if the sender is someone you know: viruses have been known to hijack Outlook contact lists on infected computers and send virus laden attachments to friends, family and coworkers, the Melissa virus being a perfect example.

A simple call or text message can save you a lot of trouble. Next, invest in good cybersecurity software. Antivirus AV refers to early forms of cybersecurity software focused on stopping computer viruses. Just viruses. Given a choice between traditional AV with limited threat detection technology and modern anti-malware with all the bells and whistles, invest in anti-malware and rest easy at night.

As mentioned previously in this piece, traditional AV solutions rely on signature-based detection. AV scans your computer and compares each and every file against a database of known viruses that functions a lot like a criminal database. Going back to our virus analogy one final time—removing a virus from your body requires a healthy immune system.

Same for your computer. A good anti-malware program is like having a healthy immune system. The free version of Malwarebytes is a good place to start if you know or suspect your computer has a virus. Available for Windows and Mac, the free version of Malwarebytes will scan for malware infections and clean them up after the fact.

Get a free premium trial of Malwarebytes for Windows or Malwarebytes for Mac to stop infections before they start. You can also try our Android and iOS apps free to protect your smartphones and tablets. All the tactics and techniques employed by cybercriminals creating modern malware were first seen in early viruses. Things like Trojans, ransomware, and polymorphic code. These all came from early computer viruses. To understand the threat landscape of today, we need to peer back through time and look at the viruses of yesteryear.

Other notable firsts—Elk Cloner was the first virus to spread via detachable storage media it wrote itself to any floppy disk inserted into the computer. But a Scientific American article let the virus out of the lab. Stuxnet spread by a USB thumb drive and targeted software controlling a facility in Iran that held uranium.

Stuxnet is the first real venture into cyberwar and it definitely asks the question as to what will come next.

So there you have it: while viruses and malware might seem like a myth drummed up by tech companies, they are a very real threat that have caused billions in damage. Sort: Most Recent Reviews. Please sign in to your account to enter additional information for monitoring purposes. No one can prevent all cybercrime or identity theft. LifeLock identity theft protection is not available in all countries.

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But why was it so brutal? Source: Shutterstock Well, in malware was a bit of a myth. MyDoom MyDoom is considered to be the most damaging virus ever released—and with a name like MyDoom would you expect anything less?

Tip: never open a link in an email unless you know exactly what it is. Cost of the malware: An exact cost is yet to be calculated. Slammer While most of the malware on this list strictly hit computers, Slammer was created with broader ambitions.

Source: Stocksnap 8. Stuxnet Stuxnet is easily the scariest virus on the list as it was built by government engineers in the US with the intention of obstructing nukes from being built in Iran. Javascript is disabled in your web browser For full functionality of this site it is necessary to enable JavaScript.

Classification Category :. Type :. Aliases :. Summary A harmful program that silently integrates its own code into a program or file referred to as the host file on a computer. Removal Automatic action Suspect a file is incorrectly detected a False Positive? Automatic action Based on the settings of your F-Secure security product, it will either move the file to the quarantine where it cannot spread or cause harm, or remove it. Suspect a file is incorrectly detected a False Positive?

If you wish, you may also: Check for the latest database updates First check if your F-Secure security program is using the latest detection database updates , then try scanning the file again. Submit a sample After checking, if you still believe the file is incorrectly detected, you can submit a sample of it for re-analysis. Exclude a file from further scanning If you are certain that the file is safe and want to continue using it, you can exclude it from further scanning by the F-Secure security product.

For more Support Community Find the latest advice in our Community. User Guide See the user guide for your product on the Help Center. Contact Support Chat with or call an expert for help. Submit a sample Submit a file or URL for further analysis. Technical Details Viruses were once the most common type of harmful program found, with literally hundreds of thousands of viruses in the wild. Installation A virus almost always arrives as an executable file.