IT Homework for October 7th 2008

Pg. 172-173 #1-3

1.) What is a computer virus? How does it work?

A computer virus infects the computers files and damages your computer by doing something that is unexpected. First the virus program is inputed into the computer file. That file is then used and put in as memory, while other files get infected. The user of the computer is unaware and doesnt know that any of this is going on. If the infected mail is sent by mail or given to others by a floppy disk, that computer will be infected and the virus will spread.

2.) What are the 3 main types of computer viruses?

The three main type of computer viruses are, the ones that infect the program files. It is attached to the files and when the file is loaded so does the virus. The second type is the ones that infect the system/boot files. When it infects the boot file, the virus is loaded into the memory and is able to run whenever the computer is on. The last main type of virus is the macro viruses. They are carried by the files and is executed when the file is opened. Most of these macro viruses are spread by email attachments.

3.) List 4 ways to prevent a computer from becoming infected with a computer virus.

There are 4 ways to protect and prevent a computer from getting infected by a computer virus. One of them are to install an anti-virus software. It protects the whole operating system, program and files against the virus. Another way is to turn on a program virus protection. A good example of a program that contains this protection is the Microsoft applications. The 3rd way is to know tthe origin of each program or file you use. The last and most important one is to never double-click on an e-mail attachment that contains an executable file with an extention EXE, COM or VBS.