What is a Virus?

You might read about them in the newspaper, see them on the TV, or even hear about them from your friends and family.  But what is a computer virus exactly?

Good question!

The technical definition (according to Wikipedia) is something along the lines of “a computer program that can copy itself and infect a computer.”  That sounds pretty harmless right?  WRONG!

Whilst a computer virus can’t infect you or your family, it can do some things that will definitely have an impact on you and your family.

• Viruses could delete all your data – like all those digital family photos!
• Viruses could make your machine run slow – and make you want to spend thousands of dollars on a new one
• Viruses could infect the computers of your friends and colleagues – an embarrassing situation you don’t want to cause

You might have heard of of other things like Spyware, Adware, Malware and Trojan Horses.  Whilst these are all very bad for your pc or laptop, they are technically not computer viruses.  That is because they don’t copy themselves onto other machines.

So how do you combat computer viruses?

Another good question!  The best way to avoid viruses (and those other things like spyware and trojan horses) is to install some antivirus and internet security software on your computer.  Something like Norton 360.

Anti-virus software is your best line of defence, and should pick up any viruses you might already have.  If that doesn’t work though, you will need to talk to a local computer company who specialise in removing viruses from home and work desktops and laptops.