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Malware And Its Effects On Computers

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One of the most significant threats to computers today is malicious software. Malicious software, also known as malware, is defined as any unwanted program that means you harm and is transmitted to your computer without you knowledge or consent. Malware is used to damage computer software, files, and to steal personal information. Malware comes in many forms, and in order to stay ahead of the threat, computer users need to be aware of the different types of malware that exist. Viruses are probably the most well-known type of malware. Computer viruses are software programs that are deliberately designed to interfere with computer operation (www.microsoft.com). Viruses are programs that attach themselves to other programs in order to reproduce and cause harm. When the infected program is ran and installed, the virus then activates and spreads itself to other programs that are installed on the computer in order to harm your computer system (www.wisegeek.org). The program might be an application, a macro document, a Windows system file, or a boot loader program (Andrews, 900).
Two well-known viruses are boot sector viruses and rootkits. These viruses affect a computer’s operating system. A boot sector virus is a virus that hides in the MBR program in the boot sector of a hard drive or in an OS boot loader program (Andrews, 900). A rootkit is a virus that loads itself before the OS boot is complete. A rootkit can hide folders that contain software it has installed and can hijack

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