Who Creates Viruses?

 • Where do viruses come from? Every virus is created by an author with a different motive—but all virus builders feel their actions are justified. For some, a killer virus is the ultimate technical challenge, like climbing a mountain. For others, creating viruses is a form of self-expression. Some disgruntled employees, consumers or citizens turn to virus building as revenge for perceived injustices.

What Do Viruses Do?

 • Today’s viruses are far more potent than the beginner versions we saw several decades ago. Viruses may be sent by opening email attachments, clicking on spam, visiting corrupt websites and links online, opening spreadsheets or even the original method— infected disks. But the Internet is now the superhighway for virus transmission.

What Should I do if I have a Virus?

 • Clean your computer with anti-virus software. If your computer is still not functioning and you have data you are concerned about recovering, consider hiring a trusted expert. Often data can be successfully extracted from an injured hard drive, but the process is complex and will involve another computer, special software, and a technician with a lot of experience in data recovery.

What is a worm? 

• A worm, like a virus, is designed to copy itself from one computer to another, but it does so automatically. First, it takes control of features on the computer that can transport files or information. Once a worm is in your system, it can travel alone. A great danger of worms is their ability to replicate in great volume. For example, a worm could send out copies of itself to everyone listed in your e-mail address book, and their computers would then do the same, which causes a domino effect of heavy network traffic that can slow down business networks and the Internet as a whole. When new worms are unleashed, they spread very quickly. They clog networks and possibly cause a long wait for you (and everyone else) to view We pages on the Internet.

How do worms and other viruses spread? 

• Tip: Never open anything that is attached to an e-mail unless you expect the attachment and you know the exact contents of that file. • If you receive an e-mail with an attachment from someone you don't know, delete it immediately. Unfortunately, sometimes it’s not even safe to open attachments from people you do know. Viruses and worms have the ability to steal information out of e-mail programs and send themselves to everyone listed in the address book.

How can I tell if I have a worm or other virus?

 • When you open and run an infected program, you might not know you've contracted a virus. Your computer might slow down or crash and restart every few minutes. Sometimes a virus attacks the files you need to start up a computer. In this case, you might press the power button and find yourself staring at a blank screen. • All of these symptoms are common signs that your computer has a virus—although they could also be caused by hardware or software problems that have nothing to do with a virus.