halloween edition 10122017

y Skaife, Kurtis J
Computer Viruses
A computer virus finds its way on to your computer hidden in a seemingly innocuous program. The virus is
harmless until one opens the file or runs the program containing the virus. The virus's effects can range from
simply annoying to malicious, damaging your hardware, software or files. The virus can easily spread to other
computers when one unknowingly sends infected attachments.
Computer Worms
A worm is similar to a virus but unlike a virus, a worm can replicate and spread without the computer's operator
opening the infected file. Once on a computer, a worm can make and send out hundreds of thousands of copies of
itself. One way the worm can infect others is by sending itself to every address in your email, the process will
then repeat itself from those computers. Worms often eat up a lot of a computer's memory or a network's
bandwidth. A worm can also allow others to control your computer from afar.
Trojan Horse
A Trojan Horse will appear to be useful software but once installed, it will begin infecting a computer. The
Trojan Horse may simply be annoying such as changing the computer's icons, but it may be more harmful by
deleting files and information from the computer. A Trojan Horse often opens a backdoor in the computer
allowing unauthorized access to the computer including sensitive information that can be found.
Prevention
To protect a computer one should frequently update the operating system and have anti-virus software
installed. The software should be updated frequently as well so that it can protect the computer from the latest
versions of viruses and worms. Using a firewall is also a good idea, this can be in the form of hardware or
software. The firewall is another line of defense from viruses and can prevent an unauthorized user from gaining
access to a computer.
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