Task 12

In ICT terms, what is a virus?
A Computer Virus is a software program that is designed to copy itself over and over again and to attach itself to other programs.2. When did the first ICT viruses appear and what did they do? The 1980’s
3. What effects can malicious viruses have? Hack into a persons file and delete them
4. What is the most common way to be affected by a virus? Open an email attatchment
5. What is anti virus software? Software which is used to detect and destroy infections from viruses
6. Give two examples of anti virus software AntiVirus… AVG
7. Why is it important to constantly update anti virus software? So antivirus programs can keep up to date with new viruses, which are being made every day.
8. Give three sensible precautions you can take, to stop the spreading of viruses Antivirus protection
Be careful what e-mails you open

9. Describe what each of the computer pests do, and how they get onto your computer: Trojan, Worm, Adware/Spyware, and Logic bomb . You might need to surf the internet to find out about some of these.

Trojan..
This is an application that appears to do something useful such as a computer game (which is why you loaded it on to your computer in the first place) but quietly, behind the scenes it is doing something with ill-intent. A trojan may:-
Log all your keystrokes and then send the details to a remote computer / server. Used to capture your passwords
Allow someone else to take control of your computer whilst you are online.
Capture screen shots and send them to a remote computer, once again with the intent of obtaining confidential information such as financial screen shots.

Worms
These are a bit like a computer virus but they spread on their own through computer networks. Their biggest problem is the sheer amount of computer time and bandwidth they soak up, so making the network slow to a crawl.
Adware/ Spyware
These are programs designed to keep track of which adverts you click on and then they send specific adverts to your browser. Fairly harmless but annoying and hard to get rid of.