ComputerVirusesStandardA-4(SafetyUnit).pdfVIP

Computer Viruses Standard A-4 (Safety Unit) Brainstorming Activities 1. Give examples of ways in which the computer has become important to our everyday lives. 2. Discuss viruses as they pertain to the human body (illnesses), and why it is important to contain them. 3. Discuss computer viruses and why they are important to the health of our computers. 4. Name computer viruses. Definition • A virus is a program that reproduces itself, hides in other computer code without permission, and does nasty or undesirable things not intended by its victim. • Computer viruses are called viruses because they share some of the traits of biological viruses. Computer viruses pass from computer to computer like a biological virus passes from person to person. Types of Infection • Virus—small piece of software that piggybacks on real programs • E-mail viruses—an e-mail virus moves around in e- mail messages and usually replicates itself by automatically mailing itself to dozes of people in the victim’s e-mail address book • Worm—a small piece of software that uses computer networks and security holes to replicate itself • Trojan horse—a computer program that claims to do one thing (it may claim to be a game) but instead does damage when you run it (it may erase your hard drive) Computer Terms You Need to Know 1. Hard Drive 5. Crash 2. Computer 6. Download Software 7. Internet 3. Email 8. Anti-Virus Software 4. Floppy Disk 9. Cyberspace Discussion Questions 1. Why do you think someone would want to create a virus, knowing that it would harm others and their