Lloyds of London estimated that the virus cost the global economy $10 billion, making it the most expensive piece of malicious software to be unleashed to date. A year later, the 'I Love You' virus caught the world by surprise. It was the first real outbreak of many of its kind that spread using Microsoft's Word and Outlook. In 1999, the Melissa virus caught antivirus companies flat-footed and propagated rapidly. Viruses had their heyday around the year 2000, with the Y2K scare. The 2010 figures, released by the EU's statistics office to mark Internet Safety Day, show the safest countries were Austria and Ireland. Viruses were most prevalent in Bulgaria and Hungary, as a survey of 30 countries reveals.

The effect of a virus can be anything from a simple prank that pops up messages to the complete destruction of programs and data.Īlmost one third of internet users in the European Union caught a PC virus despite the majority having security software installed, statistics show. For instance, the malicious programs inside e-mail attachments usually only strike if you open them.

They can be transmitted through e-mails or downloaded files and they can be present on CDs, DVDs, USB-drives and any other sort of digital media.Ī virus normally requires an action to infect a victim. Viruses spread by reproducing and inserting themselves into programs, documents, or e-mail attachments. The word “virus” is often used as a common term for all malicious programs, but technically a virus is a program or code that attaches itself to a legitimate, executable piece of software, and then reproduces itself when that program is run. Your guide to how a virus works to compromise your computers safety Essential virus information - how a virus works

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