Passage V

When a Computer Gets Sick …

[1]

Imagine sitting in front of a computer monitor, filling the screen with your mind’s jumbled thoughts. Tomorrow’s assignment is slowly materializing before your eyes. Suddenly, without warning, each of the letters, in front of you tumbles to the bottom of the screen. Is this a bad dream? Not exactly. The computer is probably sick, unless the diagnosis may be that the computer has a virus.

[2]

Analogous to a biological virus that takes over a living cell, a computer virus is a program, or set of instructions, that invades a computer either to create mischief or do real damage. The type of computer virus mentioned above is more mischievous than harmful. Eventually, the letters reorder themselves on the screen. Not all viruses however, straighten themselves out.

[3]

Computer viruses range from being temporary annoyances to permanently destroying data. Computer vandals rig these viruses to go off at a preset time. These bombs can permanently destroy data, and that can be disastrous to the operation of a computer.

[4]

Detection programs are available that searches for and then destroys computer viruses. Evidence that some software writers have played up the medical analogy being found in the names of their programs: Vaccine, Checkup, Antitoxin, and Disinfectant.

[5]

As with all diseases, the best cure is prevention. Experts suggest that you avoid borrowing computer disks because they might contain viruses. They warn that many of these viruses are quite sophisticated in their programming. They also say that you should make copies of your computer files, so that if a virus does strike and you must delete your infected files, you will at least have backup copies. Experts also point out that using the Internet and World Wide Web has led to new risks of infection in the form of viruses hidden in programs downloaded, or copied, from these resources.

[6]

If there is a virus in your system, you had hope that it better responds to the appropriate treatment and therapy. Otherwise, you could be in for a long night at the computer.