Virus definition, prevention and removal tools
If you know what a virus is and you are simply looking for the software to get rid of them click here.
Brief definition of a virus
A virus is a computer program that loads itself into memory and does unwanted activities on your computer. A virus normally makes copies of itself on your hard drive and infects files on your computer, or it may even damage your hardware. Many people confuse Trojan horses with viruses. A Trojan horse is mostly the carrier of the virus and does damage to your system only once, in contrast with a virus, which repeatedly infects your system.
The last couple of years we saw a new breed of viruses emerging called worms. They spread through e-mail (some use their own e-mail engine) and causes havoc worldwide. So take care when opening strange e-mails with attachments.
How does a virus infect my PC?
There are million ways a virus can get on your system. The most common ones are the following:
- Using infected Micro Floppy Discs, CD's, DVD's or flash drives on your system
- E-mail (If you get infected by a worm, chances are good that all your recipients may also get infected)
- Web Browsers (Internet Explorer is the most vulnerable, we recommend you use Firefox)
- Over your Local Area Network
- By using bogus or rogue anti-virus software. The article "Is My Anti-virus Software Bogus?" provides advice on how to identify bogus and rogue anti-virus software.
- Read the article "The Top 10 Culprits Causing Malware Infections" for an in-depth look into the most common causes of malware infections.
How do I remove a virus from my system and how do I ensure I won't get infected again?
Anti-virus software is developed to remove a virus from your system. Most of the anti-virus applications available today have a resident shield that constantly scans your system in the background for any virus activity. They make use of virus definition files for known viruses and heuristic technology to detect unknown viruses. It is imperative that you keep your anti-virus software up to date to ensure you are protected against the newest threats.
Note: You can only load one Anti-virus package at a time on your computer. Using more than one Anti-virus package may cause the software to fight each other, which will render your Anti-virus protection useless.
Where can I find Anti-virus software?
Refer to the Anti-virus Software section of our Cyber Security Software page for a collection of well-known and trusted anti-virus software packages.
Sophos latest virus and spyware detection
The latest viruses and spyware analyzed by computer security company Sophos.
Troj/FakeVir-BE16 May 2008 23:11:28 Z
W32/Sality-AM
16 May 2008 23:11:28 Z
W32/Sality-AO
16 May 2008 23:11:28 Z
Troj/Zapchas-EA
16 May 2008 18:23:25 Z
JS/Psyme-JA
16 May 2008 10:05:15 Z
