 |
What is a computer virus? |
Technology & Communication
You've probably seen your mom or dad use a computer before — you might even be reading this very answer on one! But though computers and the internet can help us do wonderful things, you should always be careful about websites you visit and files you download, in case your computer catches a virus.
A computer virus is a program that "infects" your computer by messing up or destroying the data on it. The virus usually appears as a strange email or file that, once you open it, will leak onto your hard drive (often without you even knowing) and do all sorts of nasty stuff. It might go through your address book and copy your friends' emails, make personal information public (which makes it easier for identity thieves to steal your information) or even erase your hard drive!
Luckily, most computers nowadays have technology called "anti-virus" or "anti-spyware" programming, which makes it harder for viruses to sneak onto your computer, and easier for you to monitor any strange activity in case they do.
A computer virus is a program that "infects" your computer by messing up or destroying the data on it. The virus usually appears as a strange email or file that, once you open it, will leak onto your hard drive (often without you even knowing) and do all sorts of nasty stuff. It might go through your address book and copy your friends' emails, make personal information public (which makes it easier for identity thieves to steal your information) or even erase your hard drive!
Luckily, most computers nowadays have technology called "anti-virus" or "anti-spyware" programming, which makes it harder for viruses to sneak onto your computer, and easier for you to monitor any strange activity in case they do.
Viruses are usually created by one person, perhaps as a bet or silly prank, who might not realize how harmful that virus can become! A 1999 virus called "Melissa" was so powerful that it forced many large companies, including Microsoft, to shut down their email, while a 2004 virus called "Mydoom" hacked the hard drives of over 250,000 computers in one day! But sometimes viruses are just annoying instead of harmful.
A 2008 virus called "Rickrolling" would pretend to be a link to one type of site but, when the user clicked on it, they would be taken to a different site that played a music video and made it impossible to shut down the browser. This meant the user had to restart their computer completely and, in the process, would have lost any data they were working on if they hadn't saved before opening the Rickroll link. Not as harmful as some of the other viruses, but definitely annoying if you were in the middle of a big project!