CHAPTER 3: VIRUS DISASTERS

‘Disasters normally don’t come alone. They usually bring their family along.’

Anonymous

What is a computer virus?

A computer virus is a software program, that is usually written by an intelligent troublemaker (unethical software programmer), to wreak havoc on other computer programs. They may come in all shapes and forms and serve no useful purpose. The intention of a virus is to exploit any vulnerability in an operating system or program, and they have caused a substantial amount of financial damage to many organisations worldwide. Some viruses are harmless and can simply pop up with annoying messages, whereas others are deadly and can very quickly completely wipe out the data on a hard disk. A virus attack can happen ...

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