The Impact of Computer Infections

So, why a Computer Virus?

The leading force in computer infections today seems to be economic. The people who are creating these infections are trying to make money from their creations. One way they do this is to infect a computer with a program that locks-up all of the user’s data files. They then demand a payment of a modest some of money, say $30, to give you’re the software key that unlocks your computer’s data files.

The payment method is by credit card. The bad guys charge your credit card behind walls of fake companies or other forms of identity masking. Then, after they charge your credit card, they sell your credit card information to someone else, who then starts charging other purchases against your credit card. Eventually, you will have to de-activate that credit card. Most credit card agencies have a limit on the amount of liability you as a consumer are responsible for in the event of credit card theft. It is the credit card companies that then have the exposure of this kind of fraud. The theft of credit card information hits you as a consumer in the form of higher interest rates.

What Is a Computer Infection

What is a “Computer Virus”?

For those of us who use personal computers on a regular basis, whether at work or at home, we often live in fear of the dreaded “computer virus”. We understand generally what the term means, but often don’t know how computers can get infected and what the implications of that infection are. Since this could be a long discussion, let’s take a small portion of the issue and try to understand the reasons behind the infection.

Computer infections are small portions of computer code that are designed to be installed onto a computer without the permission of the user. The creators of computer infections usually are trying to accomplish some sort of goal. In general, these people can be considered cyber terrorists. They are trying to cause the PC user some sort of pain. That pain can take many forms. It can include the time it takes to remove the infection, the time it takes to fix the effects of the infection, the loss of productivity caused by the infection or the cost in terms of money it takes to buy software tools to remove the infection. In the worst cases, the pain includes stealing your identity or holding your computer hostage.

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