One of the main characteristics of computer viruses is related to the fact that they are programs created by hackers that attack the code of a computer, infecting files on the computer's hard drive or its source code.
Once the virus has been copied onto the computer, it can contaminate other computers that come into contact with the machine.
The action of computer viruses resembles that of biological viruses because they remain dormant.
This means that there is a period in which the infected computer shows no symptoms. During this period, the virus makes copies of itself to ensure its persistence.
This sets it apart from other infectious programs (such as Trojans) that do not multiply.
After the latency period, the virus activates and executes the function for which it was created, either to destroy the information of the memory of the equipment, to substitute a program, among others.
Computer viruses are malicious programs, also called malware , which replicate themselves by modifying a computer code and replacing it with its own code.
The creation of viruses responds to several motivations: to sabotage in the corporate sphere, to send political messages, to prove the vulnerability of the systems, among others.
The 9 main features of computer viruses
1- They are executable
Viruses are executable programs that are inserted in other programs, as if they were parasites, in order to take advantage of the benefits of the latter, such as access to certain parts of the software.
2- They remain dormant
Viruses can be maintained in latency or incubation. This means that the virus will not attack the computer the first time it contacts it.
Instead, it will remain hidden for a certain time: it can be a day, a week, a year or more, depending on the instructions with which it has been programmed.
During this period of latency, the virus makes copies of itself. This is done in order to gain access to different points of the computer code, while ensuring its survival in case one of its copies is detected by an antivirus.
3- They are transferred from one element to another
The action of a computer virus is similar to that of a biological virus. In living things viruses are transmitted from one organism to another.
If these viruses find the right conditions in their hosts, then they will reproduce to infect more parts of the body.
When this happens, the guest begins to show symptoms of the disease and could even die.
On the other hand, computer viruses are transmitted from one computer to another through various means.
The most common forms of"contagion"are the installation of pirated (non-original) programs, the download of files from unchecked web pages and the connection of contaminated removable drives (USB drives, disks, among others).
4- Activate from a trigger
Viruses can be triggered in different ways. There are viruses with specific indications regarding their activation. For example, some are scheduled to act on a particular date and time.
Others abandon the latent state when a particular event occurs; for example, that a certain number of copies of viruses have been completed, that a specific file has been downloaded, among others.
When the virus is inserted in the computer, it verifies if there are the conditions conducive to its activation. If so, then the process of infection and destruction begins. If the virus finds that the conditions are not necessary, then it remains latent.
The fact that viruses work with triggers makes them more harmful because they are endowed with a kind of intelligence.
5- They are destructive
In general, computer viruses are destructive. However, the degree of destruction will depend on the instructions with which they were programmed.
Some reduce the efficiency of computer operation. Others completely destroy the equipment code, rendering it useless.
There are also viruses that are responsible for deleting the files stored in the computer's memory, so that they can no longer be recovered or are difficult to access.
6- Are intended for a particular purpose
Computer viruses are designed to act on a computer and on a specific operating system.
For example, there are viruses that were developed to operate only on computers that have Windows as an operating system. Other viruses have been created to infect Android smartphones.
7- Remain hidden
Viruses are designed to remain hidden for a set amount of time. Not to be detected these programs usually weigh 1 kb or less.
If the virus did not remain hidden but acted immediately after it came into contact with the computer, it would lose the opportunity to replicate itself and spread to more systems, interrupting the evolutionary cycle of the program.
8- They are changing
Sometimes virus detection is impossible or more difficult because of the changing nature of viruses.
Certain viruses are programmed to mutate and update in order to stay hidden in the eyes of antivirus.
Antivirus software works with patterns. This means that the software has a database of malware , which serves as a comparison method for detecting infectious programs.
However, if the virus changes as it replicates, the antivirus will not be able to recognize it as an infectious program.
9- They are persistent
The effects of viruses are persistent. Even after the infectious programs have been detected by the antivirus, the effects of these are observed in the computers.
For example, if the virus was directed to the memory of the computer, it is possible that the data stored there is lost forever.
If it is a virus that contaminated a network of equipment, remove the malware will be a demanding task, since it can be transmitted from an infected computer to a healthy computer in a matter of seconds, expanding the range of action of the virus.
References
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- What is a Computer Virus? Retrieved on October 17, 2017, from webopedia.com
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