What are the Different Types of Computer Infestions?

A virus is a program that replicates itself so as to infect more computers, either through network connections or through floppy disks passed among users. A virus may corrupt files or systems; it may simply annoy users by flashing messages or pictures on the screen, or cause the keyboard to beep. In fact, some viruses cause no harm and can remain unnoticed on a system forever. Viruses are divided into three categories: boot sector viruses, macro-viruses, and file-infected viruses. Boot secto

r viruses are the most common and reside on the boot sector of a floppy disk. The only way to infect a computer with a boot sector virus is to attempt to start a computer from an infected floppy disk. A macro-virus is a newer type of viruses that can take the form of a word-processing or spreadsheet program macro, which may be executed as the user works with a word-processing or spreadsheet program. These viruses were the first to infect data files rather than executable files. File-infected viruses attach themselves to executable files. When the file is run, the virus will attach itself to memory. Later, the virus will attach itself to other executable files. Since these viruses stay in memory while you continue to work on your computer, they can have devastating consequences, including infecting numerous programs. A few examples of viruses are “Stoned,” “ShareFun,” and “LoveBug.”

A worm is a common way to attack a network, where it creates problems by overloading the network

Some topics in this essay:
, Information Technology, executable files, boot sector, anti-virus software, trojan horse, word-processing spreadsheet program, boot sector viruses, virus worm, spreadsheet program, computer infestation, file-infected viruses, sector viruses, word-processing spreadsheet,