What is a computer virus? How to protect yourself from computer viruses

At one time we used the word virus only as a term related to biology or the human body. But at present, the word virus has been associated with various electronic devices, such as computers, smartphones, pen drives, etc.

The term computer virus is familiar to almost everyone. Many of us may know that computer viruses are harmful to computers, but what is it? How to harm or how to protect from harm; Many of us have no knowledge of these matters. Today let us know some necessary information about computer virus.

What is a computer virus?

Virus is a shortened form of a few words. The full form of the word virus (VIRUS) is - Vital Information Resources Under Seize. The identity of the word virus is very much hidden in this full form. Something that can snatch important information is called a virus.

In more detail, it can enter a computer and delete important files and information from the computer, destroy files, slow down the device, take control of the user from the device and move easily from one computer to another like a human virus. Can; Such programs are computer viruses.

History of Discovery

According to the majority, the first computer virus was born on November 10, 1983. Fred Cohen, then a graduate student at the University of Southern California in the United States, was the first to show the computer virus at a seminar on security at the University of Pennsylvania.

In this seminar, he took control of the whole computer in a very short time by inserting his program into a mainframe computer. The program he created could have copied itself, so his supervisor Lane Adleman compared it to a virus and named it a virus. From then on, the name of the program invented by Cohen became computer virus.

However, many believe that the computer virus was created earlier. According to them, a 15-year-old man named Rich Scranta created a program in 1982 to have fun with his friends, which infected the Apple-to-computer via a floppy disk.

Some believe that the first virus was created in 1970 by Robert Thomas, whose name was Creeper; It could also make its own copy, but it was supposed to be experimental.

Types of viruses

The type of computer virus is very similar to the virus in the human body. Just as human body viruses are transmitted from one body to another, so are computer viruses transmitted from one computer to another. Viruses in the human body are small and harmful in size, just as computer viruses are small in size and very harmful to computers.

Over time, different types of computer viruses are constantly being discovered. There are different types of viruses depending on the nature and harm, such as: file or program virus, macro virus, resident virus, fat virus, boot virus, etc.

Symptoms of being infected with the virus

We already know that there are different types of viruses. As a result, not all virus-infected computers will show the same symptoms naturally. So how do you know if your computer or device is infected with a virus?

When infected with the virus, more or less all computers show several symptoms; You can see these signs to see if your device is actually infected with a virus.

Such as: automatically starting or closing applications, displaying system errors, the device hangs suddenly, displaying unnecessary instructions on the screen, taking too long to load programs, slowing down internet speeds, automatically deleting device files, and software and hardware errors. Unnecessary sudden start of computer boot, all unnecessary and unknown files are automatically moved to the device, etc.

If any of these symptoms appear on your computer, you will assume that your computer or device is infected with a virus.

How to keep your computer virus free

If for any reason your computer is infected with a virus, the device must be removed immediately. However, you can take the following steps to keep your computer virus free.

1. You can install antivirus software on your computer. Try to install paid programs. However, several antiviruses are also available for free. If the device has any of these antivirus, the virus will never get a chance to enter.

2. Antivirus may not work when using the Internet. So use Internet Security Antivirus to prevent viruses from entering the Internet.

3. Try to keep Windows always up to date.

4. Refrain from downloading software from unreliable websites.

5. Be careful when inserting a pen drive or memory card into a computer. Never insert a infected pen drive or memory into a computer.

By paying attention to the above mentioned things you can easily keep your computer virus free and use the computer very safely.