Types of viruses and their names. Methods of laboratory tests for the detection of viruses and features of decoding the research results

So, today we are going to talk to you about how to remove a virus manually from your computer. In addition, let's see what Trojans can occur, how they manifest themselves, and from where they can be introduced to the computer. Let's get down to studying our topic today.

Types of viruses

Well, but before removing the virus manually from the computer, it is worth talking to you about what kind of infection is generally found on the computer. Indeed, in most cases, it depends on this how the treatment should be carried out. So let's get started.

The first virus is a Trojan. It is a malicious file that "lodges" in the operating system, and even harms it. For example, it damages or destroys important documents. Now there are a lot of them.

The second rather widespread type of virus is various ransomware. These are files that enter the system and block it. But not destroying, but only encrypting documents. At the end of such a cipher, as a rule, an e-mail of the creator is left, to which a certain amount of money must be transferred in order to return the documents to their original form.

The third virus that can be caught is, of course, various browser add-ons, or spam. As a rule, they greatly interfere with the work on the Internet. This is due to the fact that the user's start page may change, plus, in addition, advertising banners will be located everywhere in the browser. When users see this picture, they think about how to find viruses on the computer manually, and then remove them. Now we will try to figure it out.

Signs of infection

So, before we find viruses manually and get rid of them once and for all, let's try to figure out what may indicate to you the presence of a computer infection in the system. After all, if you detect signals in time, you can avoid damage to a large number of files and loss of "operating system".

The first and most obvious sign is nothing more than messages from your antivirus program. It will "swear" at some documents and files, giving you the name of the alleged virus. True, sometimes antivirus behaves in this way in relation to various cracks and "tablets" to computer games. Nevertheless, this cannot be ignored.

The second scenario is that your computer starts to "slow down". It is then that users begin to actively think about how to remove the virus manually, especially if they do not have antivirus. So, as soon as you notice that your system has become "slow-witted", start sounding the alarm.

Another scenario is that new programs began to appear on the computer that you did not install. Quite a common move among a computer infection.

In addition, advertisements in the browser may indicate an infection on the computer. Changing the start page without the possibility of recovery, advertising banners everywhere and everywhere - all these are quite alarming signals. So, let's quickly see how it happens manually from the computer.

Search

Well, the first step is to start by looking for the places where the infection is hidden. This is sometimes very difficult to do. Especially if you don't have antivirus software. In general, let's see what can be done in this situation.

So, when you decide to fight the virus yourself, you will have to find the folder on your computer where it is stored. Sometimes the infection betrays itself by creating its own processes in Open it (Ctrl + Alt + Del), then go to the "Processes" tab. Now find any suspicious line there (it will be somehow strangely called, or even signed with hieroglyphs) and click on the "show file location" button. Done, virus found.

True, not everything is always so easy and simple. If you are thinking how to remove a virus manually from your computer, then you should know that computer infection is often well hidden. In the display of folders, check the box "display and folders". Searching is now much easier.

Remember that very often they "settle" in the Windows folder. For example, most Trojans are found in System32. Some infection can "register" in the host file. We know the favorite places of viruses. But how do you get rid of them?

Checks

The first scenario is to remove the infection automatically. More precisely, semi-automatically. It is about checking for viruses using an antivirus program.

In order to ensure yourself reliable data protection, stock up on a good antivirus. Dr.Web is great. If you don't like it, you can also try Nod32. He does a pretty good job, too.

Do a deep check. After the program gives you the results, try to cure the documents automatically. Did not work out? Then erase them. However, if you are thinking of how to remove a virus manually from your computer, then most likely the antivirus checks did not help you. Let's see what else you can do.

Erasing programs

The second step on the path to healing the system is, of course, the removal of various content that the virus has instructed you. This is a fairly common occurrence. So, take a look at the "control panel", and from there proceed to "add or remove programs". Wait a bit while checking the content on your computer.

When a list of programs appears in front of you, delete everything that you do not use. Pay special attention to content that you haven't installed. Or the one that appeared as a "trailer" after the installation of some other "program" was completed. Click on the desired line with the right mouse button, then select the "delete" command. Is it done? Then you can think about how to remove the virus manually from your computer.

Total scan

Now let's use some of the services and techniques that will definitely help us. If you know the name of the virus (especially if you are faced with spam), then searching for an infection using a computer registry is suitable for you.

In order to go to the required service, press the key combination Win + R, and then run the command "regedit". See what appears in front of you. On the left side of the window are folders with long and incomprehensible names. It is in them that viruses often hide. But we'll make our search task a little easier. It is enough to go to "edit" and then click on "search". Type in the name of the virus and then check it.

After receiving the results, all lines that appear must be erased. To do this, click on each of them in turn, and then select the required command. Everything is ready? Then restart your computer. Now you know how to remove a virus manually from your computer.

Questions related to what computer viruses are and their names, what are the ways of their penetration into the system and the impact on computers or user data, ordinary users usually do not care at all until a certain moment. But when the operating system or the programs installed in it begin to behave completely inadequately, many begin to look for answers, but it is often too late. But there are many cases when the OS (most often this refers to Windows systems) is not something that does not work correctly, but it may even be blocked or completely fail. Let's try to figure out what computer viruses are. The names of the main threats will also be given, but it should be said right away that the classification presented below is purely conditional, since today there is no unified structured system for recognizing computer threats and classifying them into a specific class. And this is mainly due to the fact that more and more often there are mixed types of threats that are simply impossible to include in any particular class.

The simplest classification of computer threats

So, to begin with, consider the simplest division of threats into main types. It is believed that viruses and worms are the main ones at the moment.

The difference between these two large categories is that the former penetrate computers through malicious files and inject their own codes into programs, while the latter can infect files of a specific type (for example, all EXE-format objects, office documents or multimedia content). This division does not allow us to clearly understand the complete difference between some types of threats, therefore, for a more detailed classification, additional criteria are used, which will be discussed below.

Ways of introducing threats to computers

But let's leave the names of computer viruses aside for now, and pay special attention to figuring out how exactly threats can penetrate user computers. Most often, experts identify several main loopholes here:

• vulnerability of the operating system and browsers used for web surfing;
• removable media;
• networks;
• inadequate quality of antivirus software;
• stupidity or carelessness of the user himself.

As far as operating systems are concerned, it is naive to believe that viruses only affect legacy DOS systems or Windows. Until recently, it was believed that virus threats do not work on Apple and UNIX-like operating systems, including Linux. However, now an absolutely confirmed fact is the impact of viruses and malicious codes with the disabling of the same "iPhones" running on iOS, or Android devices, the operating systems of which are based on the Linux kernel.

With browsers, I think, and so everything is clear, because when you visit unreliable resources that may contain threats, using the same Internet Explorer, viruses can be typed in quite elementary, and not only when downloading some files, but also simply when entering a site that can automatically execute ActiveX scripts.

The quality of antiviruses can also play a cruel joke with the user, since some of the widely advertised and praised antiviruses are unable to fully protect the computer and user information from threats. In this case, a striking example can be called viral advertising applets, many of which even have security certificates.

On removable media, threats are most often present in the form of autorun files (Autorun.inf), and when connected to a PC or laptop, computer viruses infect the device exactly when it is triggered.

As for the inattention of users, this most often manifests itself when installing programs downloaded from dubious sources (for example, from torrent trackers), when they do not pay attention to the offers to install the accompanying allegedly partner software, which in fact turns out to be an adware or spyware virus type. Well, we are not talking about ignoring the warnings of antiviruses that may appear when trying to go to virus-containing sites on the Internet.

In addition, when computers are connected in a network, threats can be transmitted from one infected terminal to all others precisely through gaps in a network that does not have an antivirus or firewall.

Signs of a computer system infection

As a result of the impact, which may not appear immediately, the system starts to slow down with an unreasonably high load on system resources (CPU, RAM or hard disk).

Sometimes installed applications stop working or driver errors occur, which can lead to the notorious blue screens. Finally, the browser can be flooded with advertisements, but the saddest thing is that sometimes some files are locked or encrypted, the operating system stops loading, and in this case, only a complete disk formatting with OS reinstallation helps.

Computer viruses: types and their names in the main classes

Now let's move on to a more advanced classification. The main computer viruses are generally as follows:

• file viruses contained in an infected file and activated only when it is launched by the user himself or accessed by the system / program;
• boot viruses that embed their own codes or startup commands in the autostart of the system or removable media;
• macro viruses contained on websites on the Internet or sent by e-mail in the form of scripts that are executed exclusively in installed programs or add-ons;
• network viruses.

Again, this distribution can also be called conditional, since today there are also mixed types of threats like file-boot viruses or network macro viruses.

The main types of computer viruses: names and descriptions of the impact

Finally, the most accurate description of threats can be found in the following classification:

• trojan horses that infiltrate computers under the guise of safe legal software that can gain access to installed programs and user data, transfer control of the computer, or "drain" information to cybercriminals;
• spyware stealing extremely important confidential information or tracking user actions on the computer;
• spy-related keyloggers that monitor keyboard input;
• extortionists (winlockers) blocking the system and requiring money transfer for unblocking;
• ransomware that fully encrypt user or system files of a certain type;
• vandals seeking to inflict maximum damage on the operating system in terms of loss of performance;
• hybrid rootkits that simultaneously track user actions and interfere with the system according to a specific scenario;
• botnets that turn a computer into a kind of zombie and use its resources to carry out DDoS attacks or influence other terminals via networks or the Internet.

In general, it should be said that these are only the main names of computer viruses, since they are replenished with new and new copies almost daily, which cannot be attributed to any of the known categories.

Functioning algorithms

We figured out a little about infection with computer viruses and their types. However, it is necessary to dwell on the classification of threats in terms of the algorithms used by them. For this, a division into resident and non-resident viruses has been adopted.

Resident threats are programs that load their executable components directly into RAM and can be constantly active from the moment the operating system is loaded until the computer is turned off. Non-resident threats usually have a limited lifetime, although they can also load their small resident portion into RAM, but this usually does not happen.

A striking example of residents are all kinds of macro viruses in the form of executable scripts, and many of them, in addition to everything, also use stealth technology, which allows them to remain unnoticed in the system, replacing the elements that the operating system accesses with its own processes.

Another distribution of the names of computer viruses by class is associated with self-encryption and polymorphism. Encryption, in a sense, resembles stealth camouflage, but it is capable of constantly changing, which makes it very difficult to identify by protective means.

Some of these threats may not contain malicious code signatures at all, by which one could at least with some degree of probability classify them as viruses. But the most dangerous threats very often even use some non-standard camouflage methods that allow them to hide deep in the kernel of the operating system, where no antivirus can reach.

Destructive properties of viruses

Despite their names, computer viruses of different classes are very similar to each other. But in order to classify them according to the degree of impact, it is customary to distinguish four categories:

• harmless (joke programs);
• non-hazardous (limited only by the consumption of system resources);
• dangerous (leading to very serious failures in the OS);
• very dangerous (completely disabling the system or destroying data stored on the computer).

Basic methods of fighting computer threats

Naturally, as the first method for detecting all kinds of known threats or initializing suspicious objects, it is recommended to use standard antiviruses that have signature and behavioral analysis modules, as well as Anti-Stealth modules.

Antiviruses with the ability to send suspicious objects for analysis to the "cloud" or "sandbox" also look good in this respect. But you cannot absolutely rely on such tools alone.

Tips for removing some ad viruses yourself

Adware viruses, of which there have been a lot of things lately, can be removed by yourself. As a rule, such threats are not particularly masked in the system, but you can find them either in the list of installed programs, or among panels or browser extensions.

To neutralize these threats, it is enough to delete the main application, clean the registry and residual files in Explorer, change the search engine and the start page in browsers, and then finally correct the path to the browser launch executable file in the shortcut properties, removing all unnecessary links and postscripts after specifying its name with the extension. Uninstallers, which automatically clean up remnants, help a lot in terms of removal.

Outcome

That is, in short, everything related to the names of computer viruses, their distribution into classes, groups and categories, based on different criteria. As additional recommendations, you can advise the following:

• install only powerful antivirus programs, even if they are shareware (many of these programs can be permanently activated for 30 days or more using special free codes);
• do not ignore antivirus warnings when working with the Internet;
• do not visit obviously questionable sites and do not download files from them;
• be attentive to suggestions for installing additional software;
• check the contents of removable media before performing any action with them;
• perform a preventive check at least once a month using portable utilities.

Computer viruses are specially designed malicious code that has the ability to copy, make its own copy, and inject it into programs or files stored on the computer.

How to detect a virus on your computer

The following signs may indicate the presence of infection

• decreased system performance
• extraneous phrases and images appearing on the desktop
• various video effects, disappearance of inscriptions on the screen, mute
• errors when starting programs and applications

One or more of these signs indicate that the removal of encoders or other malware is required. Depending on the type of virus, there are several ways of infection.

What are computer viruses

The most common virus programs are encoders, Trojans and worms. Even an experienced user can miss the point of infecting their computer. Modern antivirus programs also fail to fully protect your PC from the threat of malware infection. They also cannot guarantee the complete destruction of all traces of viruses. Specialists using special utilities can clean up the tails.

Virus code able to inject itself into a driver file, files or sectors of the boot disk. When an infected application is launched, the virus program performs the actions first, after which the main file starts working. Therefore, it is important to remove the encoder in time.

Trojan horse - these are viruses that are embedded in other programs and open access to the infected computer. The Trojan cannot spread by itself. It enters the computer from the Internet through downloaded applications. The infected computer starts to freeze, shut down for no apparent reason, and one day it may not turn on at all. Therefore, the Trojan must be removed as quickly as possible.

Worm distributed in the system without user intervention. Most often, such viruses get to the user's computer through e-mail. Therefore, you should not open letters and download information from unknown persons. Once in the system, the worm starts searching for any information with e-mail data. These can be address books, or saved pages from the Internet. Using the information it finds, the worm virus begins to use it to forward infected messages, replacing the data in the sender's field in such a way that it looks like ordinary letters from a known address and does not arouse suspicion. These viruses may not cause significant damage to your computer, but they will degrade performance.

If a virus program is activated during the startup of the operating system, it begins to fully control not only the startup, but also the operation of the OS. Consequently, all operations will be aimed at prolonging the existence of the virus.

Typically, a virus is detected at a stage when many files have already been infected. The damage in this case can be very significant.

How to neutralize a virus in a computer

The virus removal procedure can take a lot of time and effort. It all depends on the degree of infection of the system and the type of virus. For example, removing a Trojan can take up to several hours.

In the case when the virus has already begun to multiply and infect various files of the system, any delay can be disastrous for the operating system and for all information stored on the computer.

You can get rid of viruses using a special anti-virus program. If you cannot remove viruses yourself, it is best to contact a specialist.

Viral diseases affect cells in which there are already violations, which is used by the pathogen. Modern research has proven that this happens only with a strong weakening of the immune system, which is no longer able to fight the threat at the proper level.

Features of viral infections

Types of viral diseases

These pathogens are usually distinguished by genetic characteristics:

• DNA - human colds viral diseases, hepatitis B, herpes, papillomatosis, chickenpox, lichen;
• RNA - influenza, hepatitis C, HIV, poliomyelitis, AIDS.

Viral diseases can be classified according to the mechanism of their influence on the cell:

• cytopathic - the accumulated particles break and kill it;
• immune-mediated - the virus embedded in the genome sleeps, and its antigens come to the surface, putting the cell under attack by the immune system, which considers it an aggressor;
• peaceful - the antigen is not produced, the latent state persists for a long time, replication starts when favorable conditions are created;
• degeneration - the cell mutates into a tumor.

How is the virus spread?

A viral infection spreads:

1. Airborne droplets. Respiratory viral infections are transmitted by sucking in mucus particles splashed when sneezing.
2. Parenteral In this case, the disease gets from mother to child, during medical procedures, sex.
3. Through food. Viral diseases are transmitted through water or food. Sometimes they are dormant for a long time, manifesting themselves only under external influence.

Why are viral diseases epidemic?

Many viruses spread quickly and massively, which provokes epidemics. The reasons are as follows:

1. Ease of distribution. Many serious viruses and viral diseases are easily transmitted by inhaled droplets of saliva. In this form, the pathogen can maintain activity for a long time, therefore it is able to find several new carriers.
2. Reproduction rate. After entering the body, the cells are affected one by one, providing the necessary nutrient medium.
3. Difficulty of elimination. It is not always known how to treat a viral infection, this is due to the lack of knowledge, the possibility of mutations and the difficulties of diagnosis - at the initial stage it is easy to confuse it with other problems.

Symptoms of a viral infection

The course of viral diseases may differ depending on their type, but there are common points.

1. Fever. It is accompanied by a rise in temperature up to 38 degrees, without it only mild forms of ARVI pass. If the temperature is higher, then this indicates a severe course. It lasts no longer than 2 weeks.
2. Rash. Viral skin diseases are accompanied by these manifestations. They can look like spots, roseola, and vesicles. Typical for childhood, in adults, rashes are less common.
3. Meningitis. It occurs with enterovirus and, more often, children encounter.
4. Intoxication - loss of appetite, nausea, headache, weakness and lethargy. These signs of a viral disease are due to toxins released by the pathogen during activity. The strength of the impact depends on the severity of the disease, it is harder for children, adults may not even notice it.
5. Diarrhea. Typical for rotaviruses, the stool is watery, does not contain blood.

Human viral diseases - list

It is impossible to name the exact number of viruses - they are constantly changing, adding to the extensive list. Viral diseases, the list of which is presented below, are the most famous.

1. Influenza and colds. Their signs are: weakness, fever, sore throat. Antiviral drugs are used, when bacteria attach, antibiotics are additionally prescribed.
2. Rubella. The eyes, respiratory tract, cervical lymph nodes and skin are affected. It spreads by airborne droplets, accompanied by high fever and skin rashes.
3. Piggy. The respiratory tract is affected; in rare cases, the testes are affected in men.
4. Yellow fever. Harmful to the liver and blood vessels.
5. Measles. Dangerous for children, affects the intestines, respiratory tract and skin.
6. . Often arises against the background of other problems.
7. Polio. Penetrates into the bloodstream through the intestines and respiration, with damage to the brain, paralysis occurs.
8. Angina. There are several types, characterized by headache, high fever, severe sore throat and chills.
9. Hepatitis. Any variety causes yellow skin, darkening of urine and colorless feces, which indicates a violation of several body functions.
10. Typhus. Rare in the modern world, affects the circulatory system, can lead to thrombosis.
11. Syphilis. After damage to the genitals, the pathogen enters the joints and eyes, spreads further. Has no symptoms for a long time, therefore periodic examinations are important.
12. Encephalitis. The brain is affected, a cure cannot be guaranteed, the risk of death is high.

The most dangerous viruses in the world for humans

The list of viruses that pose the greatest danger to our body:

1. Hantavirus. The pathogen is transmitted from rodents, causes various fevers, mortality in which ranges from 12 to 36%.
2. Flu. These include the most dangerous viruses known from the news, different strains can cause a pandemic, severe course more affects the elderly and young children.
3. Marburg. Discovered in the second half of the 20th century, it is the cause of hemorrhagic fever. Transmitted from animals and infected people.
4. . It causes diarrhea, the treatment is simple, but in underdeveloped countries 450 thousand children die from it every year.
5. Ebola. As of 2015, the mortality rate is 42%, it is transmitted by contact with the fluids of an infected person. Signs are: a sharp rise in temperature, weakness, sore muscles and throat, rash, diarrhea, vomiting, possible bleeding.
6. . Mortality is estimated at 50%, characterized by intoxication, rash, fever, lymph node involvement. Distributed in Asia, Oceania and Africa.
7. Smallpox. Known for a long time, dangerous only to people. Rash, high fever, vomiting, and headache are common. The last case of infection occurred in 1977.
8. Rabies. It is transmitted from warm-blooded animals, affects the nervous system. Once signs appear, treatment success is nearly impossible.
9. Lassa. The pathogen is carried by rats, first discovered in 1969 in Nigeria. Kidneys, nervous system are affected, myocarditis and hemorrhagic syndrome begin. Treatment is difficult, fever claims up to 5 thousand lives annually.
10. HIV. It is transmitted through contact with the fluids of an infected person. Without treatment, there is a chance to live 9-11 years, its difficulty lies in the constant mutation of strains that kill cells.

Fight against viral diseases

The complexity of the fight lies in the constant change in the known pathogens that make the usual treatment of viral diseases ineffective. This makes it necessary to search for new drugs, but at the present stage of the development of medicine, most measures are developed quickly, before the epidemic threshold is crossed. The following approaches have been taken:

• etiotropic - preventing the reproduction of the pathogen;
• surgical;
• immunomodulatory.

Antibiotics for viral infection

In the course of the disease, immunity is always suppressed, sometimes it is required to strengthen it to destroy the pathogen. In some cases, with a viral disease, antibiotics are additionally prescribed. This is necessary when a bacterial infection is added, which is killed only in this way. With a pure viral disease, taking these funds will not only worsen the condition.

Prevention of viral diseases

1. Vaccination - effective against a specific pathogen.
2. Strengthening immunity - prevention of viral infections in this way implies hardening, proper nutrition, support with plant extracts.
3. Precautions - exclusion of contacts with sick people, exclusion of unprotected casual sex.

Almost every computer owner, if not yet familiar with viruses, must have heard various tales and stories about them. Most of which are, of course, exaggerated by other novice users.

So what is a virus?

Virus is a self-propagating program. Many viruses do nothing destructive at all with your PC, some viruses, for example, do a little dirty trick: displays some picture on the screen, launches unnecessary services, opens Internet pages for adults, etc. But there are also those that can display your computer is out of order by formatting the drive, or corrupting the motherboard Bios.

For a start, it is probably worth understanding the most popular myths about viruses walking on the net.

1. Antivirus - protection against all viruses

Unfortunately, this is not the case. Even with a sophisticated antivirus with the latest database, you are not immune to a virus attack. Nevertheless, you will be more or less protected from known viruses, only new ones unknown to the anti-virus database will pose a threat.

2. Viruses spread with any files

This is not true. For example, with music, video, pictures - viruses do not spread. But it often happens that a virus disguises itself as these files, forcing an inexperienced user to make a mistake and launch a malicious program.

3. If you have contracted a virus - your PC is under serious threat

This is also not the case. Most viruses do nothing at all. It is enough for them that they simply infect programs. But in any case, it is worth paying attention to this: at least, check the entire computer with an antivirus with the latest database. If they got infected with one - then why couldn't the second ?!

4. Do not use mail - a guarantee of safety

I'm afraid it won't help. It happens that by mail you receive letters from unfamiliar addresses. Your best bet is to simply not open them, by immediately deleting and emptying the trash. Typically, the virus is sent in a letter as an attachment, launching which, your PC will be infected. It will be protected quite easily: do not open letters from strangers ... It will also not be superfluous to configure anti-spam filters.

5. If you copied an infected file - you got infected

In general, until you run the executable file, the virus, like a regular file, will simply lie on your disk and will not do anything bad to you.

Types of computer viruses

The very first viruses (history)

This story began about 60-70 years in some US laboratories. On the computer, besides the usual programs, there were also those that worked by themselves, not controlled by anyone. And all would be fine if they did not overload the computers and do not waste resources in vain.

After a dozen years, by the 80s, there were already several hundred such programs. In 1984, the term "computer virus" itself appeared.

Such viruses usually did not hide their presence from the user. Most often, they interfered with his work by showing some messages.

In 1985, the first dangerous (and most importantly, rapidly spreading) computer virus Brain appeared. Although, it was written with good intentions - to punish pirates who illegally copy programs. The virus only worked on illegal copies of software.

The heirs of the Brain virus survived for about a decade, and then their population began to decline sharply. They did not act cunningly: they simply wrote their body into a program file, thereby increasing in size. Antiviruses quickly learned how to size and find infected files.

Software viruses

Following the viruses that were attached to the body of the program, new types began to appear - in the form of a separate program. But, the main difficulty is how to get the user to launch such a malicious program? It turns out to be very simple! It is enough to call it some kind of breaker for the program and put it on the net. Many simply download, and despite all the warnings of the antivirus (if any), they will still launch ...

In 1998-1999 the world shuddered from the most dangerous virus - Win95.CIH. It disabled the motherboard Bios. Thousands of computers around the world have been disabled.

A virus spread through email attachments.

In 2003, the SoBig virus was able to infect hundreds of thousands of computers by itself attaching itself to messages sent by the user.

The main fight against such viruses: regular updating of Windows OS, installation of antivirus. Also refuse to launch any programs obtained from dubious sources.

Macroviruses

Many users, probably, do not even suspect that in addition to executable files exe or com, ordinary files from Microsoft Word or Excel can also carry a very real threat. How is this possible? It's just that the VBA programming language was built into these editors at one time, so that you could add macros as an addition to documents. Thus, if you replace them with your own macro, a virus may well turn out ...

Today, almost all versions of office programs, before launching a document from an unfamiliar source, will surely ask you if you really want to run macros from this document, and if you click on the "no" button, then nothing will happen, even if the document was with a virus. The paradox is that most users themselves click on the "yes" button ...

One of the most famous macro viruses is Mellis’y, which peaked in 1999. The virus infected documents and via Outlook mail sent an email with infected content to your friends. Thus, in a short time, tens of thousands of computers around the world were infected with it!

Script viruses

Macroviruses, as a specific species, are included in the group of scripting viruses. The bottom line is that not only does Microsoft Office use scripts in its products, but other software packages also contain them. For example, Media Player, Internet Explorer.

Most of these viruses are spread by means of attachments to letters, via e-mail. Often attachments are disguised as some kind of newfangled picture or musical composition. In any case, do not launch or even better do not open attachments from unfamiliar addresses.

Often users are misled by the file extension ... After all, it has long been known that pictures are safe, then why can't you open a picture sent by mail ... By default, Explorer does not show file extensions. And if you see the name of the picture, like "interesnoe.jpg" - this does not mean that the file has exactly that extension.

In order to see extensions, enable the following option.

Let's show it using Windows 7 as an example. If you go to any folder and click "arrange / folder and search options" you can get to the "view" menu. That's where our cherished checkmark is.

Uncheck the option "hide extensions for registered file types", and also enable the "show hidden files and folders" function.

Now, if you look at the picture sent to you, it may well turn out that "interesnoe.jpg" suddenly became "interesnoe.jpg.vbs". That is, in fact, the whole trick. Many novice users have fallen into this trap more than once, and they will come across more ...

The main protection against script viruses is the timely updating of the OS and antivirus. Also, refusal to view suspicious letters, especially those that contain incomprehensible files ... By the way, it will not be superfluous to regularly backup important data. Then you will be 99.99% protected from any threats.

Trojans

Although this species has been classified as a virus, it is not directly one. Their penetration into your PC is in many ways similar to viruses, only their tasks are different. If a virus has the task of infecting as many computers as possible and performing an action to delete, open windows, etc., then the Trojan program, as a rule, has one purpose - to copy your passwords from various services, to find out some information. It often happens that a Trojan horse can be controlled over the network, and upon the order of the owner, it can instantly restart your PC, or, even worse, delete some files.

It is also worth noting one more feature. If viruses often infect other executable files, Trojans do not do this, it is a self-contained standalone program that works by itself. It is often disguised as some kind of system process so that it would be difficult for a novice user to catch it.

To avoid becoming a victim of Trojans, first of all, do not download any files, such as hacking the Internet, hacking some programs, etc. Secondly, in addition to antivirus, you also need a special program, for example: The Cleaner, Trojan Remover, AntiViral Toolkit Pro, etc. Thirdly, it will not be superfluous to install a firewall (a program that controls Internet access for other applications), with manual configuration, where all suspicious and unknown processes will be blocked by you. If the Trojan horse does not get access to the network, half the work has already been done, at least your passwords will not disappear anywhere ...

Summing up, I would like to say that all the measures and recommendations taken will be useless if the user himself, out of curiosity, launches files, disables antivirus programs, etc. The paradox is that virus infection occurs in 90% of cases through the fault of the PC owner himself. Well, in order not to become a victim of those 10%, it is enough to produce sometimes. Then you can be almost 100% sure that everything will be OK!