Sunday, August 24, 2014

Computer Virus.

A computer virus is a computer program that can copy itself and infect a computer. The term "virus" is also commonly but erroneously used to refer to other types of malware, including but not limited to adware and spyware programs that do not have the reproductive ability. 

A true virus can spread from one computer to another (in some form of executable code) when its host is taken to the target computer; for instance because a user sent it over a network or internet, or carried it on a removable medium such as floppy disk, CD, DVD, or USB drive. 

Viruses can increase their chances of spreading to other computers by infecting files on a network file system or a file system that is accessed by another computer.


A computer virus is a malware program that, when executed, replicates by inserting copies of itself (possibly modified) into other computer programs, data files, or the boot sector of the hard drive; when this replication succeeds, the affected areas are then said to be "infected".[1][2][3][4] Viruses often perform some type of harmful activity on infected hosts, such as stealing hard disk space or CPU time, accessing private information, corrupting data, displaying political or humorous messages on the user's screen, spamming their contacts, or logging their keystrokes. However, not all viruses carry a destructive payload or attempt to hide themselves—the defining characteristic of viruses is that they are self-replicating computer programs which install themselves without the user's consent.
Virus writers use social engineering and exploit detailed knowledge of security vulnerabilities to gain access to their hosts' computing resources. The vast majority of viruses target systems running Microsoft Windows,[5][6][7] employing a variety of mechanisms to infect new hosts,[8] and often using complex anti-detection/stealth strategies to evade antivirus software.[9][10][11][12] Motives for creating viruses can include seeking profit, desire to send a political message, personal amusement, to demonstrate that a vulnerability exists in software, for sabotage and denial of service, or simply because they wish to explore artificial life and evolutionary algorithms.[13]

Un virus informático es un programa de malware que, al ejecutarse, se replica mediante la inserción de copias de sí mismo (posiblemente modificado) en otros programas de ordenador, archivos de datos, o el sector de arranque del disco duro; cuando esta replicación tiene éxito, las áreas afectadas son entonces dice que están "infectados". [1] [2] [3] [4] Los virus suelen realizar algún tipo de actividad nociva en los hosts infectados, tales como el robo de espacio en el disco duro o el tiempo de CPU , acceso a la información privada, corrompiendo los datos, mostrar mensajes políticos o humorísticos en la pantalla del usuario, envío de correo basura a sus contactos, o ingresar sus pulsaciones. Sin embargo, no todos los virus tienen una carga destructiva o intento de ocultar a sí mismos-la característica definitoria de los virus es que son programas de computación auto-replicantes que se instalan sin el consentimiento del usuario.

Los creadores de virus utilizan la ingeniería social y aprovechan el conocimiento detallado de las vulnerabilidades de seguridad para acceder a los recursos de computación de sus anfitriones. La gran mayoría de los virus atacan los sistemas que ejecutan Microsoft Windows, [5] [6] [7] el empleo de una variedad de mecanismos para infectar a nuevos huéspedes, [8] y, a menudo el uso de anti-detección de sigilo / estrategias complejas para eludir el software antivirus. [9 ] [10] [11] [12] Los motivos para la creación de virus pueden incluir la búsqueda de lucro, el deseo de enviar un mensaje político, diversión personal, para demostrar que existe una vulnerabilidad en el software, para el sabotaje y la denegación de servicio, o simplemente porque desean de explorar la vida artificial y algoritmos evolutivos. [13]

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