Home > Science Fact Finder > Mathematics, Numbers, and Computers - What Is A Computer "Virus" And How Is It Spread?

Mathematics, Numbers, and Computers - What Is A Computer "Virus" And How Is It Spread?

What is a computer "virus" and how is it spread?

Computer viruses originate as pranks. They are created by computer-literate troublemakers, who design a program that will copy itself onto other computer files. The purpose of one who unleashes a computer virus is to destroy data.

Named for its behavioral similarity to biological viruses, a computer "virus" is a program that "infects" other programs by replicating (reproducing) itself within them. When an infected program is run, the embedded virus is also run, thus spreading the "infection."

A virus is spread when computer users communicate by computer, often when they trade diskettes. Initially the user may be unaware that a virus has invaded her or his machine. The virus may simply propagate (reproduce) itself and then allow the program to run normally. After a time, however, the virus usually becomes disruptive, sometimes even destroying all of the user's...

[The entire page is 273 words long]

Join eNotes

The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:

eNotes Pass