Malicious Files on the Internet

The Internet is a globally used to transfer bytes of data among other computer users. While the internet may be a great place to share information and downloaded software, the source of many things being distributed can not be confirmed. Because of people's unawareness, it is possible to download files infected with malicious code that can threaten your computer's security and your personal identity.

A virus is the most common example of a malicious script which can be used to invade your computer. In general, viruses are written and designed to run on computers using the Windows operating system. However, there and some viruses which have also been written to attack Linux and Macintosh machines. Viruses can be distributed in many different ways, for example, viruses can:

- Attach to commercial programs / files (that you end up buying either from a store, such as Best Buy or from the internet)

- Attach to e-mail messages, and install automatically once the e-mail has been opened.

- Download automatically on to your computer while you are browsing the internet.

Working amongst viruses, are Trojan horses which are created by hackers to use your computer against you and steal your identity. Most Trojan horses are disguised as useful programs which actually run a malicious code in the background. Unlike viruses, Trojan horses do not need a host program to run on your computer, instead, they are designed from the beginning to run on their own. However, like viruses, Trojan horses only once the program with the malicious code is executed by the user.

In an effort to get rid of virus and Trojan horses, many users turn to anti-virus programs (such as McAfee, or Norton Antivirus). These programs search for v-markers (or traces left behind from malicious code) to find its source. Once the host file gets detected, the anti-virus attempts to get rid of the code by cleaning, quarantining or deleting it. While anti-virus software may help to get rid of old viruses, the internet is ever-evolving and every minute, hackers are finding new ways to annoy people and steal their personal information.

Bibliography:
Gralla, Preston. How the Internet Works, Seventh Edition. Que, 2003.