Thread: Computer Viruses

A computer virus is malware that seeks to alter the normal functioning of the computer without the permission or knowledge of the user. The virus usually replace files executable by others infected with the code of this. Viruses can destroy, intentionally the data stored on a computer, although other more benign which is only characterized by being annoying.

Why they are called viruses, is that they behave the same way as biological peers. Self-reproducing body once infected are very small and end up seriously harming the receiving entity. In fact, many computers they lose all their information when attacked by a virus. Many times you must reformat the computer completely clean, which leads to install all applications again, and this in turn causes new problems since often are not the original installation disks.

Technical computing recommends that time to time computer owners will support everything that is considered important. Computer viruses are basically the function of spreading through a software do not replicate themselves because they have no such power as the worm are poisonous and some also contain a payload with different objectives from a simple prank to do serious damage to systems or block network traffic generating software useless.

There are different comments on how did the virus, but viruses are as old as computers. In the late 60's, Douglas McIlory Victor Vysottsky and Robert Morris devised a game they called Core War which became the pastime of some of the programmers Bell Laboratories of AT & T.

The game consisted of two players each write a program called the agency, whose habitat was the memory of the computer. From a signal, each program was intended to force the other to make an invalid instruction, winning the first one to get.

At the end of the game, erased from memory all traces of the battle, because these activities were severely punished by the chiefs as a great risk to leave a loose organization that could destroy applications tomorrow. Thus arose the programs intended to damage the computer scene.