Computer Viruses Explained – The Easy Guide – Grasp Support – 14′

Computer Viruses Explained – The Easy Guide – Grasp Support – 14′

Every one of us will have had some dealings with viruses in the past. And yet, unlike our bodily viruses that we are so quick to diagnose and theorise on ourselves, it is amazing how little people know about the causes, symptoms and treatment of digital viruses.

Grasp is here to give you a basic run-down of the various nasties that work their way throughout the internet and cause so much misery to so many. Firstly, the term “virus”. In actuality – Viruses, Worms, Trojans, and Bots are all phrases used that actually all fall under the more appropriate term “Malware” or “malicious software” to give it its full terminology.

The purpose of Malware is hugely varied. It could be an acne ridden teenager just out to flex their coding muscles and just cause a minor nuisance to unsuspecting computers or in the case of the 2010 “Stuxnet” virus, it can be a highly sophisticated endeavour that hacked its way through a small percentage of the world’s computers connected to the internet and then disable one fifth of Iranian nuclear centrifuges. And who said America weren’t very good at engineering?

Under the umbrella of Malware:

Viruses: Most viruses are self propagating and rely on user execution similar to Trojans. Viruses though once they find their way onto an unsuspecting PC will self-propagate and become part of another program. This could then be spread further by infected email attachments or portable storage devices. Common symptoms of having a virus are a general slowing of a computer and the sluggish behaviour of certain software or the whole operating system.

Trojans: Taking its name from the folklore trojan horse. A trojan virus appears like a legitimate executable file such as “PC cleaning utility.exe” and once executed will have much the opposite effect. Trojans can range in severity from causing irritating pop ups and adverts to flash up frequently or can actually open back door access to your PC for malicious users.

Worms: A worm unlike a virus does not rely on user interaction to allow it to spread. A worm is a standalone form of malware that infiltrates a system without the need for execution. A worm simply needs a form of open door to enter a system and propagate itself. It is a much more automated form of malware. Worms take advantage of the various file transportation software to further distribute themselves.

Bots: Bots are an information collecting form of malware that reports specific “snooping” information back to a server or server collection (botnet). Bots have the advantages of being self propagating like Worms and also have the potential for logging keystrokes (what you’ve typed), financial information, personal files and can launch aggressive software attacks on machines previously left open to attack by Worms or Trojans by means of “piggyback” type viral behaviour. Bots are incredibly sophisticated on occasion and can be modified at the core server level quickly to adapt and change their attack approach.

So these are your most common viruses. However malware and “hacking” doesn’t have to be elaborate at all. You only have to look at the latest iCloud “hack” to realise how simple it is for a single malicious user to follow a few very simple steps to gain personal files and information. It is always recommended to have different passwords for different logins. It is always recommended to update your PC with the latest security updates to ensure your computer has the root level code prepared to deal with the latest malware.

Find out the fascinating story of the 2010 Stuxnet virus that has been credited as “almost starting WW3”

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