What is a computer virus? How is it dangerous for us?

Protect yourself against computer viruses!

In today’s technology driven world everyone uses the internet to cater to their needs. The percentage of online users has increased be it for online shopping, reading, working and so on. But do you think it to be completely safe?Sometimes when we click on a link received in our email or open a website a malicious program enters our PC known as virus which is very dangerous and can lead to crashing our computer and make it slow. Through these viruses, our sensitive information can be misused. Computer threats can be a nightmare for you that can cause extensive damage to your system. This can even disrupt the performance of the system. So let’s quickly know about what a computer virus is and how it can harm us?A computer virus is a malicious program that when executed replicates itself by reproducing itself or infecting other programs. When this replication is complete, the affected areas are said to be infected. However, not all viruses attempt to hide themselves. One of the basic characteristic of a virus is that they are self replicating computer programs that install themselves without the user’s knowledge. Computer viruses are usually spread through email attachments or instant messages. Viruses can be disguised as attachment of funny images, greeting cards, audio and video files and much more. This is the reason you are always advised not to click on any email attachments unless you are completely sure about who it is from and what it contains. A simple virus is also very dangerous as it produces copies of itself very easily. It is also dangerous as it can use up all the available memory in your system and bring it to a halt. There are many viruses that are capable enough to transmit it through different networks. There are very few viruses that are harmless, but most are malicious and cause widespread damage. Some show immediate action, while others remain silent for weeks or even months, but work slowly in the background without making you aware about it. Computer viruses can also spread through downloads over the internet. They can also appear to be hidden in illicit software or other files that you may download.

To help avoid computer viruses, it’s essential that you update your computer on a regular basis, be aware about the latest online threats, run your system on a secured network and be careful while downloading files and opening attachments. Out of all the best solution is to install a reliable security software.