Avoiding Catching Cold

Avoiding Catching Cold

Computers can get viruses, just like people can. As mentioned earlier, a computer virus is a file, typically a program, which can cause problems after a copy of the virus gets on your computer. The file often gets on your computer via e-mail or web browsing. Just like real viruses, a computer virus can make your computer really sick, a little sick, or you might not even know that you have a virus. Often times, like real viruses, after your computer gets a virus, it can infect other computers.

To combat viruses, people install anti-virus software on end user computers as well as on servers. This software looks at the files copied to the computer to make sure there are no known viruses. For instance, some e-mails have files attached to them. The anti-virus software looks at the files, comparing the contents to a list of known viruses. If the file contains a virus, the anti-virus software either deletes the file or puts it somewhere safe.