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A "Crash" Course on Virus Types
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What is the difference between a
Virus, Trojan, and Worm?
Basically, they all fall under the generally
category of "viruses". However, there are a few
distinctions.
Virus
Technically, a virus infects another file (attaches
or inserts itself into it). They usually infect
program files or MS Office documents. From there, it
can replicate, do damage, etc. Unlike a worm, these
do not function as a stand alone (except possibly to
infect a given file).
Worm
This
is almost identical to a "true virus", except that
it lives on its own and generally doesn't infect
other files (although it can replace them). Usually,
these copy themselves using e-mail, networks, disks,
etc. Again, these are very close to a true virus,
and can do the same kind of damage.
Trojan Horse
This
type of program doesn't copy itself but does do
damage to your computer. These types of programs
rely on people to pass them around and to run them.
They do not e-mail themselves. The idea is to make
the program look like it's something harmless, like
a screen saver or joke, so it gets sent around.
That's the crash course on virus types. The bottom
line is - you don't want any of these nasty viruses
on your computer!
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Why People Create
Computer Viruses
Unlike biological
viruses, computer viruses do not simply
evolve by themselves. Computer viruses
cannot come into existence
spontaneously, nor can they be created
by bugs in regular programs. They are
deliberately created by programmers, or
by people who use virus creation
software.
It is possible that
copying errors and recombination may
lead to the actual evolution of a
computer virus; however, the possibility
of this type of 'digital evolution' is
extremely remote.
Virus writers can have
various reasons for creating and
spreading malware. Viruses have been
written as research projects, pranks,
vandalism, to attack the products of
specific companies, to distribute
political messages, and financial gain
from identity theft, spyware, and
cryptoviral extortion.
Some virus writers
consider their creations to be works of
art, and see virus writing as a creative
hobby.
Additionally, many virus
writers oppose deliberately destructive
payload routines. Some viruses were
intended as "good viruses". They spread
improvements to the programs they
infect, or delete other viruses. These
viruses are, however, quite rare, still
consume system resources, may
accidentally damage systems they infect,
and, on occasion, have become infected
and acted as vectors for malicious
viruses.
A poorly-written "good
virus" can also inadvertently become a
virus in and of itself (for example,
such a 'good virus' may misidentify its
target file and delete an innocent
system file by mistake). Moreover, they
normally operate without asking for
permission of the owner of the computer.
Since self-replicating code causes many
complications, it is questionable if a
well-intentioned virus can ever solve a
problem in a way which is superior to a
regular program that does not replicate
itself.
Releasing computer
viruses (as well as worms) is a crime in
most jurisdictions.
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