Index - expand your thinking

What do viruses do to computers?

While viruses can be intentionally destructive and destroy data, many other viruses are fairly benign or merely annoying. Some viruses have a delayed payload, which is sometimes called a bomb. For example, a virus might display a message on a specific day or wait until it has infected a certain number of hosts. A time bomb occurs during a particular date or time, and a logic bomb occurs when the user of a computer takes an action that triggers the bomb. However, the predominant negative effect of viruses is their uncontrolled self-reproduction, which waste or overwhelms computer resources.

How does one combat computer viruses?

One should have anti-virus software installed on the system and updates should be downloaded frequently to ensure that you have the latest fixes for new viruses, worms, and Trojan horses. Additionally, one would want to make sure that the anti -virus program has the ability to scan email and files as they are downloaded from the Net.