Computer Viruses

Viruses have evolved at a high volume over the past years.   The first known computer virus was written in 1982 by Rich Skrenta. The next virus was discovered by two Pakistanians brothers; the virus was called the Brain (Antivirus Ware, 2010).   Before the Internet became so popular most viruses were spread through hardware, such as floppy disks, USBs, and other removable media. In this paper, I will define a computer virus and discuss the different types of viruses, preventative measures, and recovery methods.  
Definition of a Computer Virus
Today, most computer virus threats are transferred through the Internet and e-mail when downloading file. A computer virus is damaging program that can duplicate itself and continue to do harm to the computer.   The virus spreads from one computer to another in some form of executable code when its host is taken from the target computer. Viruses spread fast because the network file system is accessed by other computers. People often confuse viruses with the Trojan Horse and Worms; these are totally different. Trojan horse doesn’t get into the system and replicate itself; it is software that hides malicious functions.   A worm can exploit security vulnerabilities that spread to other computers through networks without having to attach itself to the program (Antivirus Ware, 2010).
Type of Computer Viruses
Viruses are classified into different categories: Nonresident, Resident, Boot Sector, Companion, and Logic Bomb.   A non- resident virus is not stored on the hard drive of the computer that it has damaged but is in an executable file that infects the computer every time it is accessed. The non-resident file has a finder module and a replication module.   The finder module locates the new file to infect and for every new executable file the finder module finds is call the replication model (Toolbox for IT, 2010).  
A resident file is a computer virus that stores itself within the memory that infects files instantaneously.... [continues]

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