Your Computer Virus example essay topic

Viruses are something that all computer users need to be made aware of. A virus is a piece of code that is written to maliciously cause harm to computers and computer networks. Viruses first originated in the 1980's. With the boom of the computer age came the opportunity to reach havoc to users. As technology grew so did the opportunities for viruses to become more easily spread and more easily created. There are at least 3 reasons why a person would want to create a virus: There are individuals that like to cause harm to others.

This is a psychological issue that they have. There is a thrill for them seeing others suffer. A good example is a person that would start forest fires. It is sort of the same psychology as those seen in both arsonists and vandals.

Some people are fascinated in seeing things blown up. A virus is similar to a bomb; it causes an explosion in the infected computer. The third reason involved bragging rights. They want to be able to say that computers are vulnerable and instead of contacting the software maker and letting them know that there are vulnerabilities, they want to wreak havoc and paint a bad picture of the software developers. While most computer users are not that familiar with viruses, they become well aware of them once their computer is infected. With the proper steps taken, all users can ensure that they are protected from getting a nasty computer virus.

There are several do's and don " ts that I am going to go over to keep your computer virus free and continue to make you a happy computer user. Chuck, since you are always connected to the internet via DSL it is imperative that you have as much protection on your computer as possible. The internet is full of viruses and worms. It is important that your computer is always updated with the latest security and hotfixes made by your software manufacturers. Another type of software that I would advise you to purchase is virus scanning software. The most dominant virus scanning software on the market today is Mcafee.

You can either purchase the software online or purchase off the shelf at any computer store. Once installed on your system, you have to make sure that the software is enabled and regularly scans your system. There are several options that you should check into. Some of the features include checking Mcafee's web site for virus definition updates.

These updates include any new viruses that have recently emerged. Other valuable options include an email scan, download scan, and an internet filter. One thing to be advised is most virus scanners do add additional processes on your computer, but with the proper amount of memory and processor speed. Even with the virus scanning software, you should still use some caution when downloading software and opening attachments in email.

New viruses are always coming out and may not always be detected by virus scanning software. Virgil, since you are not a full blown computer user I do think that you need to take all of the necessary precautions that Chuck should. It is imperative that you do keep your system up to date with all of the available hotfixes and system patches. These updates are available from Microsoft's web page at web I only have two major suggestions to make to you while you are on your computer: Do not open any email from any persons that you do not know. Nowadays most viruses are spread through email, so if you are not aware of where an email originated from, the best thing you can do is delete it without even opening the email. Viruses are only effective when they are executed, so an email that is infected with a virus can only be dangerous if the email is opened.

Do not download any software from any websites. Even though you may think the web site is virus free and a reliable source, you never know when or if the website has been hacked and good files have been replaced with virus infected files.