Before we can comprehend how a computer virus works, it is important to realise what a virus does when it attacks the human body. Microorganisms such as viruses, are only able to divide within another living cell. Many illnesses and diseases are caused by it and it is characteristically damaging to the cell or body that it inhabits.

Able to reproduce itself within another cell or body, the word virus is Latin for ‘poison’ and that is basically what it is - a ‘poison’, an example of an illness caused by a virus is the common cold. Human viruses and computer viruses are very similar. The computer virus can be anywhere on your pc, usually hidden within a program, file or document.

Criminals, and other talented idiots with nothing better to do with their time, create these viruses and spread them to other people’s computers. This activity’s sole purpose is to create trouble and damage for every pc user. Just as influenza can spread from one person to another, contamination of other computers, files and documents can occur as a consequence of a virus entering a computer. Files and documents; such as word-processing documents, spreadsheets, emails, computer programs etc can have a computer virus spread through them. As well as through removable storage devices such as memory sticks and floppy disks, it can spread itself through the Internet and through local computer networks. It is hard to detect because it is hidden and it can be unwittingly spread to other computers by the computer user.

A computer virus works similarly to viruses (like the flu) that make a person sick. In fact, a ‘digital virus’ will make your computer ill, some can be very harmful, while others are created to simply annoy and just what each type will do to your computer depends on what it has been programmed to do. Macro Viruses, Email Viruses and Trojan Horses. Taking appropriate safety precautions with regard to your computer will be easier once you have an understanding of what computer viruses are and how they work.