To be classified as a virus, a program must meet two criteria. It must be able to execute itself by placing its own code in the execution path of another program. The program must also be able to replicate itself by replacing existing computer files with copies of the virus-infected files. Similar to the way a biological virus requires a host cell, a computer virus requires an infected host file to propagate itself.

Viruses have become the villains of the computer world, propagating themselves and destroying everything in their path. However, another tool of destruction, known as the worm, has been creeping into the computer industry. Most of us have heard of the dreaded Blaster worm that attacks Microsoft websites, but what exactly is a worm and how does it differ from a virus? Actually, a worm is a type of virus that attacks the computer in a method differing from the way a typical virus attacks a computer. Unlike the typical virus, the worm does not require a host program to propagate. A worm enters a computer through a weakness in the computer system and propagates itself using network flaws.

The typical virus requires activation through user intervention, such as double clicking or sending outgoing email. However, a worm releases a document containing the “worm” macro and sends copies of itself to other computers through network flaws, therefore bypassing any need for user intervention.

So, what can you do to protect your computer from virus infection? There are a number of preventative measures that you can take. For example, you can purchase and continually update virus scan software. Make sure that this software contains the “real-time” scanning feature which monitors all incoming and outgoing mail. You may also install a firewall which prohibits unauthorized access to your computer. By installing these preventative devices, you can proactively defend against viruses.

References:

AOL.com: What’s the Difference Between Viruses, Worms, and Trojans? (2005).

Phoenix. CastleCops.biz: What is the Difference Between Viruses, Worms, and Trojans? (2003.)

Sullivan, Rob. SearchEnginePosition.com: The Difference Between Viruses and Worms. SEP. (2004)

Symantec.com: What is the Difference Between Viruses, Worms, and Trojans? Symantec Corporation. (2005).

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” A program that can infect other programs by modifying them to include
a slighty altered copy of itself.A virus can spread throughout a computer
system or network using the authorization of every user using it to
infect their programs. Every programs that gets infected can also act as
a virus that infection grows “
( Fred Cohen )

First time term “ viruses” applied by Fred Cohen in the year 1984 in United States. Computer virus is named “ Viruses” because having some basic similarity with real viruses(biological viruses).

Therefore, the computer virus is a man made computer program load to your computer and tamper with your files without your knowledge. Once the program containing the virus is open, it is not only infect other programs and documents on your computer but it can copy and transmit itself to other computers that are connected to yours, just like a physical virus can move from one human host to another.

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Ease of Use
Is the product easy to use even for a novice? How easy is it to navigate through the product?

Effectiveness
How effective is the application at protecting your computer from harmful viruses or worms?

Feature Set
The feature set of a software is the amount of different features that the product has. Does the product contain all the features that are required to perform its function?

Ease of Installation
How easy is the program to install? Were there many errors that occurred? Is the complete program in one package or do you have to download additional parts off the Internet.

Help/Support
Is the Help documentation helpful or does it still leave unanswered questions? Is it easy to find yourself around the help document.

ICSA 2007 Certified
The ICSA is an independent organization that has a set criteria for certifying anti–virus software. To find out more about the criteria that is being test or the organization, click here.

VB100% 2007 Certified
The Virus Bulletin 100% is an award given to antivirus software that detects all current “in the wild” viruses during both on–demand and on–access scanning in Virus Bulletin’s comparative tests and generates no false positives when scanning a set of clean files.

W.C.L Level 1 Certified
The West Coast Labs Checkmark level 1 & 2 certifications are given to antivirus software that detects all current “in the wild” viruses, generates no false positives, prevents virus replication and disinfects all of the viruses that can be disinfected.

W.C.L Level 2 Certified
The West Coast Labs Checkmark level 1 & 2 certifications are given to antivirus software that detects all current “in the wild” viruses, generates no false positives, prevents virus replication and disinfects all of the viruses that can be disinfected.

On-access Scanning
Your files are scanned when you receive them and when you try to access them.

Realtime Scanning
Your computer will scan for new viruses every few minutes.

On-demand Scanning
You can determine which files and when to scan for viruses. It’s like manual scanning but you can be more specific and scan a file at a particular time. Simply right–click on the filename.

Scheduled Scanning
A scheduler allows you to set a schedule for when and possibly how the program is going to scan your hard drive for viruses.

Heuristic Scanning
Heuristic scanning is used to detect newly-made viruses. In other words viruses that have recently been released.

Manual Scanning
Manual Scanning is the ability to start a scan of your hard drive at any time.

Script Blocking
Script Blocking technology monitors Java and VBS scripts and alerts users of virus-like behavior. They stop these viruses before they can infect a system without needing virus definitions.

Scan Compressed Files
Scans zipped (.zip) or other compressed files that are usually obtained through emails or downloaded from the web.

Auto-Clean Infected Files
The anti-virus program will automatically clean or fix files that are infected.

Quarantines Infected Files
If a file is suspected of being infected with a virus, it moves the file to a “quarantine” area where you cannot accidentally access it.

Email POP3 Protection
The anti-virus software scans files received through incoming emails on a POP3 account?

Instant Messaging Protection
The anti-virus software scans files received through instant messaging (MSN Messenger, AIM, Yahoo Messenger)?

WebMail Protection
The anti-virus software scans files received through webmail (AOL.com, MSN.com, Hotmail.com, Yahoo.com, etc..)?

Automatic Definition Updates
The program automatically updates virus definitions or DAT files. A virus definition is basically the formula that the software uses to determine if a file is infected by a specific virus.

Automatic Program Updates
The program automatically checks and installs software updates.

Manual Definition Updates
You can manually check for virus definition updates.

Manual Program Updates
You can manually check for software updates.

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