20 Common Types of Viruses Affecting Your Computer

When we talk about computer security, the virus is the leading threat. It can destroy a single program or the whole computer system instead.
The very first virus was created in the 1970s and was called the Creeper virus, affecting computers on the ARPANET. In 1981, the first hacker-
made virus came into existence and spread through Apple floppy drives.

According to Information-Technology Promotion Agency, the numbers of viruses ballooned to 52,151 in 2004. However, due to certain
programs that completely eliminate viruses, their numbers decreased to about 14,000 in 2010.

57% of the threats affecting your computer security is viruses. Other threats include Trojans, adware, worms, and malware, among others.
Now, viruses are still widespread, affecting PC performance. Viruses are also tools of hackers to gain unauthorised access to your system and
steal private information. It is important that you are aware of the different types of viruses that are affecting your computers.

Resident Virus
Resident viruses live in your RAM memory. It can interfere with normal system operation which can lead to the corruption of files and
programs. The most popular examples of resident viruses are CMJ, Meve, MrKlunky, and Randex.

Multipartite Virus
This type of virus can easily spread in your computer system. It is very infectious, performing unauthorized actions in your operating system, in
folders, and other programs on the computer. They have the ability to infect both the executable files and the boots sector.

Direct Action Virus

Direct action viruses attack certain types of files, typically .exe and .com files. The main purpose of this virus is to replicate and infect files in
folders. On the lighter note, they do not typically delete files or affect PC performance and speed. It can be easily removed by antivirus
programs.

Browser Hijacker
This type of virus infects your web browser in which it will bring you to different websites. Typically, if you key in a domain name in the internet
address bar, the browser hijacker will open multiple fake websites that may harm your computer. On the other hand, most trusted browsers
have built-in features to block them ahead.

Overwrite Virus
From the name itself, this virus overwrites the content of a file, losing the original content. It infects folders, files, and even programs. To delete
this virus, you also need to get rid of your file. Thus, it is important to back up your data.

Web Scripting Virus

This virus lives in certain links, ads, image placement, videos, and layout of a website. These may carry malicious codes in which when you click,
the viruses will be automatically downloaded or will direct you to malicious websites.

Boot Sector Virus

Boot sector viruses affect floppy disks. They came to existence when floppy disks are important in booting a computer. Although they are not
very common today, it is still causing other computer units, especially the outdated ones. Some examples include Polyboot.B and AntiEXE.

Macro Virus
Macro viruses target applications and software that contain macros. These viruses can carry out series of operations affecting the performance
of the program or software. Some examples of macro viruses are O97M/Y2K, Bablas, Melissa.A, and Relax.

Directory Virus
Directory viruses change file paths. When you run programs and software that are infected with directory viruses, the virus program also runs
in the background. Further, it may be difficult for you to locate the original app or software once infected with directory viruses.

Polymorphic Virus
Polymorphic viruses use a special method of encoding or encryption every time they infect a system. With this, antivirus software finds it hard
to locate then using signature searches. They are also capable of replicating easily. Polymorphic viruses include Satan Bug, Elkern, Tuareg, and
Marburg.

File Infector Virus

This virus also infects executable files or programs. When you run these programs, the file infector virus is activated as well which can slow
down the program and produce other damaging effects. A large block of existing viruses belongs to this category.

Encrypted Virus
This type of virus uses encrypted malicious codes which make antivirus software hard to detect them. They can only be detected when they
decrypt themselves during replication. Although they don’t delete files or folders, they can badly affect PC performance.

Companion Virus
This is a type of virus that doesn’t survive without accompanying an existing file or folder. In order to carry out damages, the file or folder being
accompanied by companion viruses should be opened or run. Some examples of companion viruses include Terrax.1069, Stator, and
Asimov.1539.

Network Virus
Basically, this type of virus spreads out through Local Network Area (LAN) and through the internet. These viruses replicate through shared
resources, including drives and folders. When network viruses enter a computer, they look for their potential prey. Dangerous network viruses
include Nimda and SQLSlammer.

Nonresident Virus
Nonresident viruses replicate through modules. When the module is executed, it will select one or more files to infect.

Stealth Virus
Stealth viruses trick antivirus software by appearing like they are real files or programs and by intercepting its requests to the OS. Some
antivirus software cannot detect them. Sometimes, it temporarily removes itself from the system without deletion.

Sparse Infector
Sparse infectors use different techniques to minimize its detection. They are viruses that infect “occasionally”. For example, they may only want
to infect a program every tenth execution. Because they are occasional infectors, antivirus software has a hard time detecting them.

Spacefiller Virus
Also known as “cavity” viruses, spacefillers attach themselves to the file and can alter the start of the program or change the encrypted code.
They also implement stealth techniques so that users cannot determine the increase the file code. The most popular Spacefiller is the Lehigh
virus.

FAT Virus
Basically, this type of virus ruins file allocation system where the information about files, including the location, exist.

Others
Other threats are not technically called as “virus”, but they also have the same damaging effects as viruses. This includes worms, adware,
malware, Trojan, and ransomware.

To prevent these viruses from affecting your computer, it is important that you install the best and the most competitive antivirus software that
can detect, block, and eliminate all types of computer viruses.

A computer virus is a type of malware that, when executed, replicates itself by modifying other computer programs and inserting its own
code.[1] When this replication succeeds, the affected areas are then said to be "infected" with a computer virus.[2][3]
Virus writers use social engineering deceptions and exploit detailed knowledge of security vulnerabilities to initially infect systems and to
spread the virus. The vast majority of viruses target systems running Microsoft Windows,[4][5][6] employing a variety of mechanisms to infect new
hosts,[7] and often using complex anti-detection/stealth strategies to evade antivirus software.[8][9][10][11] Motives for creating viruses can include
seeking profit (e.g., with ransomware), desire to send a political message, personal amusement, to demonstrate that a vulnerability exists in
software, for sabotage and denial of service, or simply because they wish to explore cybersecurity issues, artificial life and evolutionary
algorithms.[12]
Computer viruses currently cause billions of dollars' worth of economic damage each year,[13] due to causing system failure, wasting computer
resources, corrupting data, increasing maintenance costs, stealing personal information etc. In response, free, open-source antivirus tools have
been developed, and an industry of antivirus software has cropped up, selling or freely distributing virus protection to users of
various operating systems.[14] As of 2005, even though no currently existing antivirus software was able to uncover all computer viruses
(especially new ones), computer security researchers are actively searching for new ways to enable antivirus solutions to more effectively
detect emerging viruses, before they have already become widely distributed.[15]
The term "virus" is also misused by extension to refer to other types of malware. "Malware" encompasses computer viruses along with many
other forms of malicious software, such as computer "worms", ransomware, spyware, adware, trojan horses, keyloggers, rootkits, bootkits,
malicious Browser Helper Object (BHOs), and other malicious software. The majority of active malware threats are actually trojan horse
programs or computer worms rather than computer viruses. The term computer virus, coined by Fred Cohen in 1985, is a misnomer.[16] Viruses
often perform some type of harmful activity on infected host computers, such as acquisition of hard disk space or central processing unit (CPU)
time, accessing and stealing private information (e.g., credit card numbers, Debit card numbers, phone numbers, names, email addresses,
passwords, Bank Information, House Addresses, etc), corrupting data, displaying political, humorous or threatening messages on the user's
screen, spamming their e-mail contacts, logging their keystrokes, or even rendering the computer useless. However, not all viruses carry a
destructive "payload" and attempt to hide themselves—the defining characteristic of viruses is that they are self-replicating computer
programs which modify other software without user consent.