The Computer

A computer virus is simply a piece of programming code, a stand alone small piece of software. Most of the codes are innocent. It is how they are used that get them to be called viruses. The early viruses were simple, self-containing set of codes, like the delete a file command. Antivirus programs can recognise unauthorised instructions, so programmers came up with a more sophisticated way. The cycle goes on. In order to find weaknesses in theirs or other software programmers purposely create 'viruses'. Many viruses, trojans, and other malware remain in the labs. There are people who release the codes that they created just for fun. Others are in retaliation to what they see as injustice being done on them. A few were accidentally released into the wild. Nowadays it is not easy to catch people who purposely release viruses for personal satisfaction. In theory the route can be traced back. In reality they use various Internet techniques to avoid detection. Are we being watched? Possibly. It was said that chances are even higher if you have an active webcam, either activated by you or triggered by another virus. To minimise the risks get a good firewall and antivirus software. There are many free versions, each with own strengths and weaknesses. There may also be a need to have an Internet scanner which checks the security level of websites.