<b>The History of Computer Viruses </b>

Computer viruses, to begin with, were harmless little game programmes written by geeks. They assumed a threatening nature as the home pc became popular, and people, educational institutes and businesses started using them.

Another factor that gave rise to virus attacks is the popularity of bulletin boards. One could dial up a board with the help of a modem, and download programmes. Yes, the internet was here. So was an attractively named virus � the Trojan horse. It sounded very much like a game, and people began by downloading it innocently, whereupon the �game� would wipe out their data. As a result, they were discovered quickly, after which they had to be evolved and complicated further. From the beginning, the writers of the virus programmes were bright individuals, and tried to keep one step ahead of antivirus software. In fact, in most cases, the people who wrote a virus programme also wrote the antivirus programme.

In the late 1980s, another surge of viruses was brought on by the discovery and instant success of floppy discs. Disc space in many computers was still very small, and the needs limited. In fact, the operating system for some machines would be contained in a floppy, which would be inserted and run to start up the system. Besides, all the contents of a computer could be loaded in a couple of floppy discs then. The virus programmers took advantage of this popular device and the boot sector virus was born. As the name suggests, this one got activated with the boot up, and attacked the system immediately.

With the widespread popularity of the internet, more interesting and developed viruses began to come in. There were those which would get activated when an email would be opened, and others that could travel along as a �safe� looking attachment. Some of the downloadable free game or music programmes would actually be viruses in �disguise�.

<b>Some Signs of a Virus Attack </b>

There are some tell-tale signs of an oncoming virus attack, and if we learn to recognise them, we will be able to stop the virus from coming in at all. Some such symptoms are:

1. An email comes from an unknown source with an attachment that looks interesting. As soon as the attachment is opened, dialog boxes appear, and the system slows down perceptibly in its functioning.
2. Attachments have double extensions, like .gif.exe or .jpg.vbs.
3. The antivirus stops running, won�t restart, and cannot be reinstalled.
4. Strange dialogue boxes appear all over the screen and refuse to close even when you click on them.
5. New icons appear on the desktop, and do not belong to any recognisable programme.
6. Sudden sounds or music plays from an unknown source.
7. Files do not open, and the computer keeps hanging or freezing.
8. Lots of space seems to be occupied in the discs suddenly.
9. Programmes disappear from the computer, or appear to be corrupt.
10. The computer switches off on its own, and refuses to start up normally.

<b>How Data Loss Happens </b>

Once it has managed to get in, the virus does various damages to the data in an attempt to wipe out as much data as possible.

1. The virus makes copies of itself, taking up hard disc space, and deleting or corrupting existing files.
2. A copy of this infected file might be sent out automatically with all our e-mails.
3. The virus may be potent enough to reformat the entire disc and its contents.
4. The virus will reduce the security �cover� of the computer. A remote computer can then access your system and control it.
5. You may be housing pirated software and distributing it without knowing it.

Keeping all this in mind, we should try our best to protect ourselves from data virus attacks in every way, and stop them before they can attack us.

Article courtesy of articl-dir.com