Definition of computer virus

A dangerous computer program with the characteristic feature of being able to generate copies of itself, and thereby spreading. Additionally, most computer viruses have a destructive payload that is activated under certain conditions.

How to avoid getting a computer virus

Most computer viruses come from e-mail attachments. When you open the attachment they infect your computer and then access your e-mail address book. From the address book it sends itself to all your friends, where it then it accesses their address book and so on. Viruses can also come in from other programs that you may borrow from friends or download from the Internet.

A lot of computer viruses have a .exe file extension so avoid opening e-mails that have .exe extensions. Even if your best friend sends you a file that has a .exe extension scan it with a virus scanner first I will talk more on virus scanners next.

Removing virus

Ultimately, at some point your computer will get a virus no matter how careful you are. So make preparations before this happens and install antivirus software.

There's lots of different antivirus software, but the two major producers are Norton and McAfee. They are somewhat expensive but are well worth the price. Most antivirus software has options you can set to scan your hard drives, CD-ROM drives and scan all incoming e-mails and even messaging software like MSN and Yahoo messager.

Just like the spyware software the antivirus software will have an update button. Update your software at least once a week. After you update scan your computer for new viruses. New viruses are created every day, some more damaging than others. Knowing this, you can see why it's important you update and scan often. You'll want to detect any new threats before they become too much of a problem.