Viruses

Computer viruses have always been exaggerated on the Internet. In this section, we will explain exactly what a computer virus is and how you can and cannot get one.

Note: In the 10+ combined years of using the Internet for the authors of this site, none of them has ever had a computer virus or lost files due to use of the Internet.

How to get Infected

There is only one way to get infected with a computer virus and that is to run a program which has a virus on it. There is no other way you can get infected with a computer virus. You cannot get infected with a computer virus by reading E-Mail. You cannot get a computer virus by just downloading a computer virus. You must run the program by double clicking on it or starting it up to get a computer virus.

Computer Virus Myths

In movies, you will usually see something such as the main character sticking a disk into a computer and instantly, the computer will start to die out and lose all of its files. This just cannot happen in real life. To infect a computer, there must be a program on the disk that was written to delete files on a hard drive. The disk must then be inserted and the virus program must then be run. Then, and only then, will the computer start losing its files. So, just putting disks into your computer cannot infect your computer with a virus.

You probably have received E-Mails from friends passing along the "newest computer virus information" where if you even read a mail with the heading "Good Times" or something else to that effect, then your computer will instantly lose all of its files. This is just impossible and is a complete hoax. It is absolutely impossible to transfer a virus by reading E-Mail. (The only way to get a virus through E-Mail is if an attached file comes with the E-Mail. You must download this file and then run it. To avoid problems like this, do not run, or if you have the option, download any suspicious files you may receive.)

The only viruses that you can receive are from programs. Any other files cannot infect your system. This includes but is not limited to, sounds, graphics, text, e-mail, viewing web sites, or anything else that is not a program.

Staying Safe

The best thing to do to stay safe is to only download files that you feel are safe. Most files downloaded from online providers such as America Online are safe as they have been scanned for viruses by the managers who put them up. The same goes for large FTP sites or most companies. The programs you have to watch out for are from web pages that may be made by individuals who have nothing to lose by infecting your computer.

Buying a virus detection program is something you may want to look into. A warning though: These programs cannot detect all viruses and mainly only detect more common ones. But, these programs can spot most of the harmful programs if they are run.