What are computer viruses?
They are known as computer viruses, those malicious programs that have the objective of infecting computers, laptops or any type of system with internet access, in order to generate a certain action that can interrupt, damage, erase or hijack personal information.
These viruses also have the ability to make copies of themselves, like biological viruses that exist in nature, managing to spread on other PCs, through pen drives, CDS, DVDS, phones, fraudulent websites or emails.
How are computer viruses created?
The first computer virus was created in the late 60’s; There are other references to the early 1980s, when a 15-year-old boy decided to self-copy his classmates’ discs onto his Apple II computer without their consent.
Currently, there are many computer programmers who create these programs through codes that can be downloaded mostly on the web. These small computer codes have the ability to infect other programs, thus creating a copy and infecting the program or the operating system itself, leaving it completely unusable.
Currently, there are different types of computer viruses that we will describe below:
Boot viruses: These viruses are the most known, they completely infect your computer, managing to execute when the operating system starts when you turn on your PC.
Time Bomb Virus: It is a type of virus where the programmer determines when to activate it. Once the computer is infected, this computer virus is activated to damage the PC.
Worm-like computer viruses (Worm): the purpose of these viruses is to spread rapidly throughout the PC’s operating system, even managing to intercept in emails and the Internet.
These computer viruses are known to make copies of themselves, managing to erase or damage computer files.
Trojan viruses: a virus that manages to bring a code inside it to access the computer and hijack information, send it to another person without them knowing what is happening. Currently, these computer viruses manage to copy, erase or alter the data of the computer’s operating system.
Hijackers viruses: these viruses are known on the Internet for altering the browser’s home page, preventing the user from modifying it, displaying misleading advertising or opening new windows uncontrollably. They also have the power to install plugins in the browser and corrupt other web pages so that you cannot access them.
Virus Keylogger: Keyloggers are known worldwide for being responsible for stealing other people’s bank passwords, stealing passwords to emails and social networks. Once the PC is infected, these viruses monitor your computer, remaining completely hidden in the operating system. These viruses are developed by cybercriminals who commit these illegal acts.
The number of computer viruses that exist today are many and increasing, managing to overcome defensive barriers that counteract these attacks, luckily, there are many methods that help reduce these cyber attacks avoiding the theft of personal information.
