3_zapata_bernie

Bernie Zapata

Composition

A Computer Nightmare

Almost every computer user in the world has heard of computer viruses. Many have even had the misfortune of experiencing a virus attack at some time. Virus attacks are becoming more rampant than ever before. Yearly, thousands of people suffer, often-irrecoverable, damage to their systems and data. Yet many do not even know what hit them let alone what they can do to avoid a recurrence. Can an anti-virus scan prevent serious damage to hardware and software if a virus enters your computer?

The first step in any virus attack is always the invasion. Without the anti-virus program, the virus can come in with a "Welcome" sign on your monitor. This is when the virus actually enters the computer system from an outside source. Much of the effort in preventing a virus attack lies in understanding what these virus entry points are and how best to monitor and block any possible intrusion.

All viruses enter the computer system through two main entry points: the disk drives and the network adapter cards. The disk drives may be any sort of disk drive (hard, floppy, CD, Zip, Jazz . . .). This makes any disks or CDs inserted into these drives a possible source of virus infection. The computer network is most likely connected to the network adapter card or the modem card connected to the Internet. Viruses enter through the network card most likely disguised in the form of attachments in e-mails. These attachments are often program files and office documents (such as Word, Microsoft Works, and others). Besides this, certain web pages visited on the Internet may also contain harmful programming codes that might transfer virus or virus-like codes into the system.

The act of infection often begins with a harmless looking action such as opening a file (like a video game or a Word document) often arriving with e-mail attachments or while accessing any disk in a disk drive. These actions activate the virus lurking in these files and disks. Some other viruses act like time bombs. They open and install themselves in the computer's memory on a certain time and date.

After entering the computer's memory, a virus often immediately sets out to multiply, spread, and duplicate copies of itself across the main data storage device (most often the hard disk drive). It does this by copying itself into as many files it can find on the hard drive. Later, when users transfer or copy these files to their friends and colleagues, the virus gains entry into an ever-increasing number of systems. If the virus has found its way to this level of the user's computer, the user runs a high risk of permanent damage to data and hardware.

The first thing you can do to prevent viruses, and eliminate them, is to install an anti-virus. The second thing you need to do is update those anti-virus programs running in your computer with the latest virus data files. It's time for the user to learn from the experience and never let computer virus have a second chance.









			Bernie Zapata Composition A Computer Nightmare Almost every computer user in the world has heard of computer viruses. Many have even had the misfortune of experiencing a virus attack at some time. Virus attacks are becoming more rampant than ever before. Yearly, thousands of people suffer, often-irrecoverable, damage to their systems and data. Yet many do not even know what hit them let alone what they can do to avoid a recurrence. Can an anti-virus scan prevent serious damage to hardware and software if a virus enters your computer? The first step in any virus attack is always the invasion. Without the anti-virus program, the virus can come in with a "Welcome" sign on your monitor. This is when the virus actually enters the computer system from an outside source. Much of the effort in preventing a virus attack lies in understanding what these virus entry points are and how best to monitor and block any possible intrusion. All viruses enter the computer system through two main entry points: the disk drives and the network adapter cards. The disk drives may be any sort of disk drive (hard, floppy, CD, Zip, Jazz . . .). This makes any disks or CDs inserted into these drives a possible source of virus infection. The computer network is most likely connected to the network adapter card or the modem card connected to the Internet. Viruses enter through the network card most likely disguised in the form of attachments in e-mails. These attachments are often program files and office documents (such as Word, Microsoft Works, and others). Besides this, certain web pages visited on the Internet may also contain harmful programming codes that might transfer virus or virus-like codes into the system. The act of infection often begins with a harmless looking action such as opening a file (like a video game or a Word document) often arriving with e-mail attachments or while accessing any disk in a disk drive. These actions activate the virus lurking in these files and disks. Some other viruses act like time bombs. They open and install themselves in the computer's memory on a certain time and date. After entering the computer's memory, a virus often immediately sets out to multiply, spread, and duplicate copies of itself across the main data storage device (most often the hard disk drive). It does this by copying itself into as many files it can find on the hard drive. Later, when users transfer or copy these files to their friends and colleagues, the virus gains entry into an ever-increasing number of systems. If the virus has found its way to this level of the user's computer, the user runs a high risk of permanent damage to data and hardware. The first thing you can do to prevent viruses, and eliminate them, is to install an anti-virus. The second thing you need to do is update those anti-virus programs running in your computer with the latest virus data files. It's time for the user to learn from the experience and never let computer virus have a second chance.