| A virus is a piece of programming code usually disguised
as something else that causes some unexpected and usually undesirable event.
A virus is often designed so that it is automatically spread to other computer
users. Viruses can be transmitted as attachments to an e-mail note, as downloads,
or be present on a diskette or CD. The source of the e-mail note, downloaded
file, or diskette you've received is often unaware of the virus. Some viruses
wreak their effect as soon as their code is executed; other viruses lie
dormant until circumstances cause their code to be executed by the computer.
Some viruses are playful in intent and effect ("Happy Birthday, Ludwig!")
and some can be quite harmful, erasing data or causing your hard disk to
require reformatting. |
