What are computer viruses, worms, trojans and spyware?
· Computer viruses act similarly to human viruses. The virus copies itself and quickly spreads through out the machine. The machine becomes infected and slows down–just like when a person catches a cold or the flue. The virus can spread quickly to other machines through the network just like a cold virus spreads across campus. Viruses usually appear in attachments. · Worms and Trojans, in addition to viruses, can infect your computer. Worms act like viruses, but do not come in attachments; they travel through the network and infect vulnerable computers. Trojans disguise themselves as useful programs, but in reality are harmful programs that harm your computer. Trojans may also allow someone to gain information from your computer, such as credit card numbers. · Spyware is a term used to describe software and cookies that track your computer usage and reports it to a third party, often without your consent. Spyware often comes attached to utilities such as a time and date manager, music
