Computer Virus

A computer virus is a program or piece of code that is loaded onto your

computer without your knowledge and then making copies of itself.
Types of viruses
The different types of viruses

1) Boot Sector Virus :- Boot sector viruses infect either the master boot record of
the hard disk or the floppy drive. The boot record program responsible for the
booting of operating system is replaced by the virus.
2) File or Program Viruses :- Some files/programs, when executed, load the
virus in the memory and perform predefined functions to infect the system. They
infect program files with extensions like .EXE, .COM, .BIN, .DRV and .SYS .
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3) Polymorphic Viruses :- Polymorphic viruses have the ability to mutate

implying that they change the signature each time they spread or infect. Thus an
antivirus program which is scanning for specific virus codes unable to detect it's
presence.
4) Stealth Viruses :- These viruses are stealthy in nature means it uses various
methods for hiding themselves to avoid detection. They sometimes remove
themselves from the memory temporarily to avoid detection by antivirus. They are
somewhat difficult to detect. When an antivirus program tries to detect the virus,
the stealth virus feeds the antivirus program a clean image of the file or boot sector.

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5) Multipartite Viruses :-A multipartite virus is a computer virus that infects

multiple different target platforms, It attempts to attack both the boot sector and
the executable, or programs, files at the same time. When the virus attaches to the
boot sector, it will in turn affect the systems files, and when the virus attaches to
the files, it will in turn infect the boot sector.
6) Macro Viruses :- A macro virus is a computer virus that "infects" a Microsoft
Word or similar application and causes a sequence of actions to be performed
automatically when the application is started or something else triggers it.

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A computer worm is a program that replicates itself and makes use of a

PC's network connectivity to transfer a copy of itself to other computers
within that network. It is capable of doing this without any input from the
user.
1) Email worms
An email worms uses a PC's email client to spread itself. It will either send a link
within the email that, when clicked, will infect the computer, or it will send an
attachment that, when opened, will start the infection.
A well-known example of this type of worm is the "ILOVEYOU" worm, which
infected millions of computers worldwide in 2000

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2) Internet Worms
Internet worms are completely autonomous programs. They use an infected
machine to scan the Internet for other vulnerable machines. When a vulnerable
machine is located, the worm will infect it and begin the process again.
3) File-sharing Networks Worms
File-sharing worms take advantage of the fact that file-sharers do not know exactly
what they are downloading. The worm will copy itself into a shared folder with an
unassuming name. When another user on the network downloads files from the
shared folder, they will unwittingly download the worm, which then copies itself
and repeats the process. In 2004, a worm called "Phatbot" infected millions of
computers in this way, and had the ability to steal personal information, including
credit card details, and send spam on an unprecedented scale.

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4) Instant Message and Chat Room Worms

These work in a similar way to email worms. The infected worm will use the contact
list of the user's chat-room profile or instant-message program to send links to
infected websites. These are not as effective as email worms as the recipient needs
to accept the message and click the link. They tend to effect only the users of the
particular program.

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