Computers have effectively changed our lifestyle but they are always prone of virus intrusion. As their importance is increasing a proper protection for them is also required. A virus can intrude into a computer through any data storage device which carries infected data and comes in contact with the system. If a computer is connected to a network, chances of virus intrusion become very high if it is not protected by effective antivirus software. The Internet has changed the whole method of communication and now the world seems as an area without boundaries. In this scenario chances of virus intrusion in a computer connected with the Internet have become very high.
What is a computer virus?
A computer virus is not like of a virus which infects a human body. A computer virus is a program that can copy itself and infect a computer. A computer virus is also called malicious software or malware. There are many kinds of malware also that can not reproduce themselves but can infect the computer. If files on a network file system get infected by computer virus, chances of spreading of virus will become very high because that file system is accessed by other computers too.
What is Antivirus software?
Antivirus software is a program that can detect and eliminate viruses on a computer. A virus removal software application uses two common methods to detect viruses. One method is of using a list of virus signature definitions. In this method the contents of computer's memory (RAM and boot sector), files stored on removable or fixed drives (floppy drives, hard drives) are examined, and then compared with files against the database of known virus signatures. This method gives protection to the computer against only those viruses whose virus signatures are stored in the database.
The second method is based on heuristic algorithm to find out viruses based on common behaviors. This method is more effective as it can detect those novel viruses that antivirus security vendors have yet to create a signature for.
A user can download and install computer security software from the Internet for protecting his system. There are many vendors who provide solution against different kinds of security threats from computer viruses. Some names like Avast, McAfee, Norton and Kaspersky are very common in virus removal software.
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