Viruses can be spread several ways, including via networks, discs, email attachments or external storage devices like USB sticks. Since connections between devices were once far more limited than today, early computer viruses were commonly spread through infected floppy disks.
Today, links between internet-enabled devices are for common, providing ample opportunities for viruses to spread. According to the U. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, infected email attachments are the most common means of circulating computer viruses.
Your computer may be infected if you recognize any of these malware symptoms :. Antiviruses have made great progress in being able to identify and prevent the spread of computer viruses. When a device does become infected, though, installing an antivirus solution is still your best bet for removing it.
Once located, the antivirus will present options for its removal. While tens of thousands of computer viruses still roam the internet, they have diversified their methods and are now joined by several malware variants like:. Worms - A worm is a type of virus that, unlike traditional viruses, usually does not require the action of a user to spread from device to device.
Trojans - As in the myth, a Trojan is a virus that hides within a legitimate-seeming program to spread itself across networks or devices. Take these steps to safeguard your PC with the best computer virus protection:. An unprotected computer is like an open door for computer viruses. A PDoS permanent denial-of-service attack is not a virus, but a type of attack where a person exploits network equipment firmware by flashing it with malicious code.
These attacks can damage hardware if the firmware is programmed to do something malicious e. Someone who creates a virus is most likely creating the virus for monetary means, to spy, or to take control over the computer. Attempting to write a virus that damages hardware doesn't help accomplish any of these goals and also doesn't help spread the virus to other computers.
It's plausible that someone could write malware designed to target a person or company to damage hardware. However, for this type of attack, the person wouldn't create a virus that infects other computers. Also, modern hardware is more difficult to damage hardware beyond repair.
Today, systems use firmware that can be re-flashed or reset without replacing any chip or other hardware. Also, modern systems have safety measures that help protect hardware from becoming damaged. For example, if a system gets too hot, it can turn itself off to prevent damage.
There are many stories floating around that a virus can cause a computer to explode or catch fire; they are not valid. Malicious code could damage or cause computer controlled equipment to explode e.
However, it would only be possible if the controlling software could make hardware do something dangerous and would have to disable any warning or prevention systems. It's worth mentioning that software designed to adjust system settings, like the system clock settings , fans , or active heat sinks , can cause system problems with the computer. It has to do with how computers work. The moment that virtual memory extension from the hard drive becomes insufficient, too, disk thrashing hits the scene.
The way this occurs is if you have an older computer with limited system resources. Once it gets infected with viruses and malware, you may deal with disk-thrashing aggravation due to the malware infection. When it comes to viruses that attack hardware, any cybersecurity enthusiast will instantly think of the infamous Chernobyl virus. It was detected for the first time back in And its specialty was to corrupt data on hard drives and motherboard BIOS.
CIH yet another code name of the Chernobyl virus would brick any computer it would infect because it would overwrite the system information and destroy the BIOS in the process.
This cool kid can do lots of things. These days, it would require certain privileges for a virus to update the UEFI firmware with a modified, infected version. For a hacker to overwrite the UEFI on your motherboard with arbitrary code….
It is also more likely to happen in the future because UEFI is becoming widespread, gaining more functionalities, and getting a larger attack surface. The more it develops, the higher the odds for hackers to spot hidden vulnerabilities. Peripheral components used to get viruses through transferring infected files. His attack showed the world how any device that supports USB connectivity could become an infection vector.
A BadUSB exploit allows a hacker to write or overwrite the firmware code of any USB device, reprogramming it to act and serve as a human interface device.
Once the attack is accomplished, the hacker can use it to run malicious software or execute commands on the computer to which you connect the infected USB device. The only thing one can do is to refrain from connecting any foreign peripheral to personal devices. This Intel-developed hardware interface that allows peripheral connections at lightning speeds compared to USB interfaces is not immune to vulnerabilities.
A Thunderbolt connection was proved to act as an infection vector for Mac devices. The villain was Thunderstrike, a bootkit designed explicitly for OS X devices.
And if you know what a bootkit is, you have all the reasons to get the shivers just by thinking about this possibility. The good news is that because Thunderstrike requires an evil maid attack, it is less likely to happen to you. It can only be transmitted through direct contact, which means you can get it on your device if the hacker literally gets his hands on it, or if you install it from a Thunderbolt-connected, already infected peripheral.
Once your device is infected with it, it remains permanently compromised. With Thunderstrike in place, hackers get complete control of every process of the device. Last but not least, some viruses can damage computer-controlled hardware. Imagine a factory where most processes are automated and overseed via computers. Suppose one of those computers is infected and it can no longer perform optimally. In that case, it will affect the functionality of the machinery it controls within the factory, thus causing hardware damage.
Remember Stuxnet, the virus we talked about in our ultimate list with computer virus names? That one was meant to affect the centrifuges from an Iranian enrichment facility. Stuxnet wreaked hardware havoc by blocking the software safety measures in place.
It is said that it damaged around centrifuges. Without a doubt, it was a sophisticated virus and one that took enormous resources from its developers. The regular computer user will hardly become a target of such orchestrated attacks.
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