Research Paper
Research Paper
Research Paper
I.Ê Introduction
the intent of corrupting data. Computer viruses are mysteriously hidden beneath seemingly
harmless programs, which explain the reason for their effective spread across the internet.
These malicious computer programs are designed to replicate themselves or insert copies of
themselves into other programs when executed within the infected program.
Since virus should be executed to have any effect, files that the computer
treats as pure data are safe. This includes graphics and sound files such as .gif, .jpeg, .mp3,
.wav, etc., as well as plain text in .txt files. Just viewing pictures and playing music won¶t
harm your computer because the computer virus should be in a form such as .exe program or
a word .doc file indicating the means of executing it. When you execute a program that was
been infected by a virus, the virus code will start to run on your computer system and thus,
computing world on May 04, 2002. This was an incredibly simple virus that contained a
piece of code hiding inside an e-mail attachment. People who double clicked on the
attachment allowed the code to implement. The code will then spread copies of itself to
everyone in the victim¶s address book and will to infect files on the victim¶s computer.
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Computer viruses are a very danger to the well-being of our society. Both the
government and the business community have already acknowledged the realities of this
virus. Viruses have cost corporations, government agencies, and educational institutions
millions of dollars to prevent, detect, and recover from computer virus attacks. Some viruses
have already destroyed computer systems and networks that provide vital communications
It is important to know how a computer virus can spread in order to know how
it can be prevented.
computers?
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C.Ê Objectives
The objective of this study is to decrease the numbers of computer that has
been infected by computer viruses by giving them the idea on how a virus can spread
how we can treat a computer virus in case the computer was already infected.
All computer users worldwide and computer researchers will benefit from this
study. Computer users such as students can benefit from this study because almost all
the students worldwide are already using computer but some are still not aware of
how a virus can spread. Computer researchers on the other hand will also benefit
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instructions.
another.
II.Ê Body
A computer virus has the ability to reproduce itself and attach to a program
file causing it to spread more. After which, it will spread again from one computer to another
causing devastation to other¶s computer. This can be done by a special code created and
distributed by the creator of the virus. A computer virus can be spread by means of
downloading files from the internet, by e-mail attachment and by sharing files from a
removable disk like a Universal Serial Bus (USB). The virus attached on emails is usually
disguising themselves as messages coming from their friends or family. Without any doubt,
they will open the email attachment comprising a computer virus that will infect the computer
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infecting more than 6,000 computers in minutes, nearly bringing the Internet to its knees.
More recently, the ³I Love You´ virus caused over $1 billion in lost productivity as it
crippled e-mail systems worldwide. Last year alone, 10,000 new viruses, worms and Trojan
properly engineered virus can have a devastating effect, disrupting productivity and doing
When a computer was being infected by a computer virus, their computer runs
slowly than normal, their computer stops responding, their computer restarts without any
command from the user, applications on their computer don¶t work correctly and some files
are corrupted and inaccessible. Some of these are symptoms of a computer which is already
The reason why this virus had such a devastating effect to the computing
world was because it was fuelled by the human willingness to double click on the executable
programs not knowing the risk they are facing. A computer virus can be easily spread across
the internet because computer users nowadays tend to download computer programs from the
internet to get it free. However, the creator of a computer virus will abuse this kind of desire
of computer users worldwide. They will simply upload the file with the virus attach in it on a
specific site and place product names that will catch the eyes of the user.
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A computer virus can persist at nearly undetectable levels for a very long
period of time without dying out entirely. This unusual behavior takes internet outbreaks
difficult to predict and control. What they did is they reside in one¶s computer and wait for a
specific event to be activated. Some insidious programs prove immune to anti-virus software,
residing inside your computer for months or even years, collecting your personal information.
According to Ing (2005), the instructive code Trojan defies detection because
unlike most viruses and Trojans out there, each instructive code Trojan to date has been
specifically written for its victim and the targeted information it must access. Backstops or
instructive code Trojans are created to obtain specific files from a targeted computer or
network without detection. While it is improbable that the average computer user will
encounter a backstop, the threat is very real to government and corporate entities that
routinely use or create any form of proprietary, financial or competitive data (para. 3).
computer. This computer virus will live on your computer for how many months or even
years without any traces. After it successfully resides on your computer, they will start
collecting data without any consent from the user. The scariest part of this computer virus is
they are already stealing lots of information from you without you knowing even if you¶ve
attachment, embedded in the body of an e-mail, automatically loaded from a webpage. The
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target is known to frequent, or via external media such as a floppy disk or CD. In one case,
the instructive code was delivered on a music CD to an employee known to play music on her
laptop. Once she connected her laptop to the network, the instructive code transferred itself to
its target. Once on the target system, the code resides in a hidden file that cannot be viewed
on the system under regular default settings. The code then searches all files and folders for
occurrences of the specific keywords or phrases programmed into it. When matches are
found, copies of the data are made, compressed, encrypted and made into a hidden archive
file. After a predetermined time, the code automatically e-mails the entire file during a
routine e-mail session initiated by the target user. Once sent, the code deletes the hidden
archive and invokes a self-delete procedure to remove itself, leaving all other files and
programs intact. Thus, there is virtually no trace that the instructive code existed on the target
A computer virus can corrupt a file once inside a computer. This virus can
make the files of the computer user inaccessible. After corrupting one file, it will infect
another file causing malfunction on a user¶s computer. Thus, the computer user will have no
question about that. They can corrupt or erase data and even knock out a computer. But the
contagion risk to users, contrary to rumor, is not as serious as some would have you believe
(para. 1).
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B. Use programs that can block viruses from infecting your computer.
measures can be taken in order to protect your computer. There are many researchers who
have already created programs that can help you protect your computer from computer
viruses.
A personal computer should always be protected from viruses wanting to infect your
protect you and your computer against known viruses. However, an anti-virus will not be able
to detect a virus that is newly been created. What anti-virus companies do is they¶re updating
their anti-virus so that next time that this virus invades one¶s computer, they will be able to
prevent it from infecting one¶s computer. With this, we must keep in mind that we should
always update our anti-virus everyday so that our anti-virus will be able to detect the viruses
According to Wool (2008), anti-virus companies catch viruses ³in the wild´ and then
send them to isolated computer labs for study. The companies then determine the unique
patterns or ³signatures´ the malware creates. It is this signature that is sent as anti-virus
update to anti-virus subscribers. The problem is that updates take too much time to perfect
and then distribute, leaving a wide window of opportunity for computer villains to attack
(para. 6).
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Anti-virus software resides in the active memory of your computer, and takes control
of it to alert you to an active virus that is present on your computer. If the anti-virus cannot
repair the infected file, it will quarantine the infected file or will give you the alternative of
safely deleting the file. An anti-virus may also be used to scan the file you wish to download
so that you will be rest assured that the file you¶re downloading is clean and virus free.
In choosing your anti-virus, it is essential to know the best anti-virus that one can
offer. Having a good anti-virus will prevent computer viruses from infecting your computer.
computer traffic between different security domains based upon a set of rules and other
criteria. Firewalls are frequently used to prevent unauthorized Internet users from accessing
Firewall acts as a secure barrier between your computer and the outside world. It
monitors all traffic to and from your computer. Firewall also provides protection against
Trojan Horses because it blocks the unauthorized e-mailing of the key-log file to its intended
recipient.
The primary task of firewall is to ensure that nothing private from the computer goes
out and nothing malicious virus comes in. That is, to ensure the security of the computer and
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C. Computer reformatting can delete and prevent the computer viruses from spreading.
When a computer is infected by a computer virus that is hard to remove, the best way
to clean it is to reformat your computer. However, reformatting your computer will erase all
your data present on your computer. The best thing to do is to prepare a back up file in case
your computer has been infected by a strong virus so that when you reformat your computer,
The very essence of reformatting one¶s computer is to remove viruses which can¶t be
deleted by your anti-virus. In some cases, some anti-virus is outdated and that¶s why
computer viruses can¶t be detected and will start to infect your computer step by step. This is
the reason why computer users don¶t have any alternative left other than reformatting their
computer.
1.Ê Xeformatting can delete all the programs including those that have been infected by a
computer virus.
your computer. However, it will delete all your files on your computer. Computer users who
already experienced reformatting their computer due to computer virus are backing up their
files. The reason to this is so that their files can still be restored after reformatting one¶s
computer.
2.Ê Xeformatting the computer is the best way to remove a computer virus in case it
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order to get rid of it. If the virus infects many times already, it is already hard to remove the
virus. This is when reformatting your computer is already needed. After reformatting your
III. Conclusion
1.Ê What is the reason why computer virus wants to infect computers?
performance once it has been infected by a computer virus. A computer virus also wants to
steal your username and password from your computer without your consent. Thus, they
want to steal your whole information and your identity stored on your computer having the
internet, by e-mail attachment and by sharing files from a removable disk like a Universal
A computer virus can be easily spread across the internet because computer
users nowadays tend to download computer programs from the internet to get it free.
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4.Ê What preventive measures to be taken in order to avoid computer virus from
essential to install a good anti-virus on your computer. Another way to prevent your
computer from viruses is by having a firewall on your computer so that it can block all
5.Ê What can a computer user do in case his/her computer has already been infected
by a computer virus?
remove it once detected. However, there are some circumstances wherein an anti-virus cannot
remove the computer virus on one¶s computer. A computer user doesn¶t have any option but