Understanding What Computer Viruses Are, Their Types, and How to Prevent Them

It seems that many people still don’t know what a computer virus is. Yet in this digital age, computer viruses are among the biggest threats to your safety. Computer viruses can attack your important and sensitive files and damage them.

Through this article, you’ll gain an in-depth understanding of what computer viruses are, from their definition and types to how to deal with them. Let’s take a look at the full explanation below!

What Is a Computer Virus?

A computer virus is a type of computer program that, when executed, replicates itself by modifying other computer programs and inserting its own code. If this replication is successful, the affected area will be “infected” with the computer virus, much like a biological virus, such as the flu.

Computer viruses, just like the flu virus, are designed to spread from one host to another and will replicate themselves until they damage the host. Similarly, just as the flu virus cannot reproduce without a host cell, computer viruses cannot reproduce and spread without a programming host, such as a file or document.

In more technical terms, a computer virus is a type of malicious code or program written to alter how a computer operates and designed to spread from one computer to another. In the process, computer viruses have the potential to cause damaging effects, such as causing system software errors, destroying data, or even causing the computer to fail.

How Do Computer Viruses Attack?

Once a virus successfully attaches itself to a program, file, or document, it remains dormant until a situation arises that causes the computer to execute its code. Then, when you run an infected program or open an infected file or document, the code within the virus is executed, and the virus begins to spread.

How Do Computer Viruses Spread?

In our constantly connected world, you can become infected with a computer virus in many ways, such as through email and chat attachments, file downloads from the Internet, fraudulent social media links, and many more. Your mobile devices and smartphones can also be infected with computer viruses in the same ways.

To avoid exposure to computer viruses, it’s crucial to exercise caution when browsing the Internet, downloading files online, and opening links or attachments that appear. To stay safe, be sure to avoid mindlessly clicking on pop-ups that appear on websites, refrain from downloading files from unverified websites, and don’t open attachments or links sent from unknown sources without verification.

What Types of Computer Viruses Should You Watch Out For?

As computers continue to evolve rapidly, there are many types of computer viruses that pose a threat, and new ones emerge every day. Here are some types of computer viruses you should be aware of.

1. Boot Sector Virus

The Boot Sector Virus is a type of virus that has the potential to cause significant damage to your device. Why is that?

This virus infects the boot sector of a floppy disk or the hard disk’s Master Boot Record (MBR). The boot sector is the part of the computer that contains all the files needed to start the operating system. This virus will overwrite existing programs or copy itself to other parts of the disk.

2. Direct Action Virus

A Direct Action Virus attaches itself directly to .exe or .com files or programs and enters the device when they are executed. Once the file or program is loaded into memory, this virus hides itself. Another name for this type of virus is a Non-Resident Virus.

3. Memory-Resident Virus

As the name suggests, this type of virus infects the memory (RAM) of your computer. A computer infected with this virus will experience a significant drop in performance; your computer will become increasingly sluggish when opening applications and accessing other features. To make matters worse, this virus will start running automatically as soon as you turn on your computer.

4. Multipartite Virus

A Multipartite Virus is a virus that can attack the boot sector and executable files on an already infected computer. If this virus infects your computer system, you’re at risk of various cyber threats.

5. Overwrite Virus

The Overwrite Virus is one of the most dangerous viruses. It can completely delete existing programs and replace them with malicious code by overwriting them. Gradually, this virus can completely replace the host’s programming code with malicious code.

6. Polymorphic Virus

Polymorphic viruses spread through spam and infected websites. These are among the most complex and difficult-to-detect viruses. A polymorphic virus creates modified versions of existing programs to infect the system while retaining its original code.

7. File Infector Virus

As the name suggests, a File Infector Virus infects a single file and then spreads on its own to other executable files and programs. The primary sources of this virus are typically video games and word processors.

8. Spacefiller Virus

A Spacefiller Virus is a rare type of virus that fills space within a file with the virus itself. Another name for this virus is the Cavity Virus. Strangely, this virus does not affect the file size, but it is also not easily detected.

9. Macro Virus

A Macro Virus is a virus written in the same macro language used in software programs and infects a computer when a word processing file is opened. This virus usually originates from emails and targets macro files, such as .pps, .xls, .docm, or similar files.

10. Trojan

The Trojan is perhaps one of the most well-known viruses. As the name suggests, this virus infiltrates your computer through stealth. Usually, a Trojan virus enters when you click a link leading to a website or a download button for an application.

Once it has successfully entered your computer, this virus immediately begins stealing data stored on the computer, such as passwords and system logs.

11. FAT Virus

Have you ever had files suddenly disappear? If so, it could be due to a FAT virus. The FAT (File Allocation Table) virus is a type of virus that can destroy a file’s indexing capability. Essentially, your computer cannot locate files that have been infected by the FAT virus.

How to Effectively Deal with Computer Viruses?

Computer viruses are almost always invisible and difficult to detect. Without protection from antivirus software, you might not even realize your computer has been infected. This is why it’s crucial to install antivirus software on all your digital devices.

If your computer has already been infected, you can follow the steps below to resolve the issue!

1. Download and Install Antivirus Software

All antivirus programs have a virus scanner feature to detect whether any viruses are present on your computer. The best way to find a virus is to use this scanner. {{blogcard id=”185″}}

2. Disconnect from the Internet

When you’re about to remove a virus from your computer, it’s best to disconnect from the internet to prevent further damage. Some computer viruses typically use an internet connection to spread.

3. Boot into Safe Mode

To protect your computer while you remove the virus, restart your computer and boot into “Safe Mode.” Here’s how:

• Turn off and then turn on your computer again.
• When the screen turns on, press F8 to open the “Advanced boot options” menu.
• Select “Safe Mode with Networking.”
• Stay disconnected from the internet.

4. Delete Temporary Files

Deleting temporary files can speed up the virus detection process. To do this, follow these steps:

• Press the Windows logo key on your keyboard or click the Start menu on the screen.
• Type “Temporary Files.”
• Select “Free up disk space by deleting unnecessary files.”
• Find and select “Temporary Internet Files” from the list.
• Confirm “Delete Files”.

5. Run a Virus Scan

After following the steps above, all you need to do is run the virus scan and wait for the process to finish. Sometimes, the process can take up to several hours, depending on the contents of your computer’s storage.

6. Remove Unrecognized Programs

Once the scan is complete, you’ll receive a list of potentially harmful files or programs that may contain viruses. Delete and uninstall all of these files and programs to eliminate the existing viruses.

7. Restart Your Computer

After the source of the virus has been removed, you must restart your computer to ensure the issue is fully resolved. If the source of the virus has indeed been eliminated, your computer should now return to normal operation.

8. Install Acronis Cyber Protection

To protect your computer from various threats such as viruses and cyberattacks, simply use Acronis Cyber Protection from Cloudmatika. With this cloud-based security solution, you can protect your data from malware and ransomware attacks by performing regular virus scans and backing up your data to the cloud. Contact Cloudmatika right now to install Acronis Cyber Protection!