Viruses and spyware can cause very serious consequences:

● Identity theft. ● Fraud. ● Deletion, theft and corruption of data. ● A slow or unusable computer

What does a computer virus do?

Some computer viruses are programmed to harm your computer by damaging programs, deleting files, or reformatting the hard drive. Others simply replicate themselves or flood. network with traffic, making it impossible to perform any internet activity. Even less harmful computer viruses can significantly disrupt your system’s performance, sapping computer memory and causing frequent computer crashes. What are the symptoms of a computer virus?

Your computer may be infected if you recognize any of these malware symptoms:

● Slow computer performance ● Erratic computer behavior ● Unexplained data loss

What are computer viruses?

It’s presently nasty, keeps you from functioning normally, and often requires something powerful to get rid of it. A computer virus is very similar. Designed to replicate relentlessly, computer viruses infect your programs and files, alter the way your computer operates or stop it from working together.

What does a computer virus do?

Some computers are programmed to harm your computer by damaging programs, deleting files, or reformatting the hard drive. Others simply replicate themselves or flood a network with traffic, making it impossible to perform any internet activity. Even less harmful computer viruses can significantly disrupt your system’s performance, sapping computer memory

What are the signs of a computer virus?

A computer virus attack can produce a variety of symptoms. Here are some of them:

● Frequent pop-up windows. Pop-ups might encourage you to visit unusual ​ sites. Or they might prod you to download antivirus or other software programs. ● Changes to your homepage. Your usual homepage may change to another ​ website, for instance. Plus, you may be unable to reset it. ● Mass emails being sent from your email account. A criminal may take ​ control of your account or send emails in your name from another infected computer. ● Frequent crashes. A virus can inflict major damage on your hard drive. This ​ may cause your device to freeze or crash. It may also prevent your device from coming back on. ● Unusually slow computer performance. A sudden change of processing ​ speed could signal that your computer has a virus. ● Unknown programs that startup when you turn on your computer. You ​ may become aware of the unfamiliar program when you start your computer. Or you might notice it by checking your computer’s list of active applications. ● Unusual activities like password changes. This could prevent you from ​ logging into your computer.

Minimising the risk of computer viruses The best antivirus products: ● Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2019. ● Norton AntiVirus Plus. ● F-Secure Antivirus SAFE. ● Kaspersky Anti-Virus. ● Trend Micro Antivirus+ Security. ● Webroot SecureAnywhere AntiVirus. ● ESET NOD32 Antivirus. ● G-Data Antivirus.

The risk of getting a virus in your software or computer is that you can damage your computer by damaging programs, deleting files, reformatting the hard drive or even getting your stuff.This is why you need to install an antivirus because if not they will damage your computer and get your stuff.

I usually use a program called kaspersky that helps me with all the computer viruses.

​Viruses and Anti-virus software

Antivirus software, or anti-virus software (abbreviated to AV software), also known as anti-malware, is a computer program used to prevent, detect, and remove malware. Popular antivirus softwares include McAfee and Kaspersky Lab, which both offer various different packages and subscriptions. VIRUS AND ANTI-VIRUS What is a virus? A program that is designed to harm a computer by deleting data, ruining files, etc. and that can be spread from one computer to another.

They are harmful for many reasons ​ ​ such as: Monitor activity and steal sensitive data like credit card info, name, date of birth, social security numbers among other things.

How to prevent computer viruses 1. Install an antivirus. ​ ​ 2. Keep your antivirus up to date. 3. Keep your operating system current. 4. Secure your network. 5. Think before you click. 6. Keep your personal information safe. 7. Don’t use open wifi. 8. Use strong passwords. 9. Back up your files.

A virus is a file written with the sole intention of doing harm, or for criminal activity. There are many types of virus. Viruses and spyware are also known as 'malware' Why are viruses bad? Some computer viruses are programmed to harm your computer by ​ ​ damaging programs, deleting files, or reformatting the hard drive. ... Even less harmful computer viruses can significantly disrupt your system's ​ ​ ​ ​ performance, sapping computer memory and causing frequent computer crashes. Viruses and spyware can attack your computer via the following means:

● Opening infected email attachments such as .exe files. ● Opening infected files from web-based digital file delivery companies (for example Hightail - formerly called YouSendIt, and Dropbox). ● Visiting corrupt websites. ● Via the internet, undetected by the user (worms are an example of this). ● Macros in application documents (word processing, spreadsheets etc). ● USB connected devices (e.g. memory sticks, external hard drives, ​ ​ MP3 players). ● CDs/DVDs.

Viruses and spyware can cause very serious consequences including:

● Identity theft. Deletion, theft and corruption of data. ​ ● Fraud. A slow or unusable computer.

Internet security (antivirus/antispyware) software

It is vital to keep your internet security software up to date in order to provide the most complete protection. Thousands of new viruses are detected every day, to say nothing of the variants of new and existing ones. Each has a set of characteristics or ‘signatures’ that enable internet security software manufacturers to detect them and produce suitable updates.

Internet security software scans for viruses in a number of different ways: ● It scans incoming emails for attached viruses. ● It monitors files as they are opened or created to make sure they are not infected. ● It performs periodic scans of the files on your computer.