how do computers get viruses?
400431
opening documents, doing anything that might triggers it, basically if you dont have antivirus... buh bye computer
672257
By accessing weaknesses in computer security including hardware and software. They may do this by creating a Trojan computer virus which can open a back door (take down existing security) into your computer. See the reference below for more definitions:
126567
In computer security technology, a virus is a self-replicating program that spreads by inserting copies of itself into other executable code or documents. A computer virus behaves in a way similar to a biological virus, which spreads by inserting itself into living cells. Extending the analogy, the insertion of a virus into the program is termed as an infection, and the infected file (or executable code that is not part of a file) is called a host. \n\nIn the context of computer software, a Trojan horse is a malicious program that is disguised as legitimate software. The term is derived from the classical myth of the Trojan horse. In the siege of Troy, the Greeks left a large wooden horse outside the city. The Trojans were convinced that it was a gift, and moved the horse to a place within the city walls. It turned out that the horse was hollow, containing Greek soldiers who opened the city gates of Troy at night, making it possible for the Greek army to pillage the city. Trojan horse programs work in a similar way: they may look useful or interesting (or at the very least harmless) to an unsuspecting user, but are actually harmful when executed.\n\nA computer worm is a self-replicating computer program, similar to a computer virus. A virus attaches itself to, and becomes part of, another executable program; however, a worm is self-contained and does not need to be part of another program to propagate itself. \n\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_virus
148058
do a virus scan of your complete system
73766
Without software it is very very difficult to remove viruses manually since viruses tend to mask their identity by modifying system files or other files which may be important to you.  The best way to remove viruses is to use good anti-virus software like Norton or McAfee.  If you don't want to pay for the software, you can get free anti-virus software like the ones mentioned in the previous post.  If you don't want to resort to anti-virus software, you will probably have to format the entire hard drive in which case, you will lose all the existing data (including your pictures, videos, music, games, etc.) on your computer.  Formatting can be done using the Windows installation CD (if you are using Windows) or a rescue disc that comes when you purchase a computer from Dell, HP, etc.
200969
I DON'T KNOW, BUT HERE'S AN INTERESTING TIMELINE ABOUT VIRUSES\n\nhttp://www.exn.ca/nerds/20000504-55.cfm
491156
Viruses come in all shapes and danger levels.  There is everything from trojans to everday viruses.  Most of these either alter data on your computer or they gather data from your computer for a certain person or company.  Either way they are dangerous.  There are some major ones taht alter boot data and cause your computer to no longer be able to start up properly.  Many of them some from websites without you knowing or from downloads (which you never download from someone that you do not know).  Get good antivirus software and keep it up to date and you should have no problems with it.\n\nOh, and most boot-up viruses do nto go away by reformatting your hard drive as they will "hide" in your RAM chips.  There are some sneaky ones out there, so make sure that you keep a good antivirus program on your computer, keep it active, and keep it up to date.
433648
as long as you have windows xp go into ALL PROGRAMS, ACCESSORIES, SYSTEM TOOLS, SYSTEM  RESTORE. then follow the instructions and restore your computer to a time before you got the virus. ps this will not erase all the data you have saved it will just reset everything you had before you got the virus.
922470
Of course it can. It's just a computer program, remember? It can do *anything* that is doable by a program - including stopping its spread and even removing itself from the infected machine. In fact, there are many viruses that spread only on certain dates or that stop spreading after certain dates.\n\nHowever, you can't rely on this. By far not all viruses are like this (in fact, only a disappearingly small subset of them are) and you can't know in advance whether the virus that has infected your machine is of this kind or not. Besides, even if the virus gives up and removes itself after a while, it can still do a lot of damage while it is still active.\n\nSo, you should run up-to-date anti-virus software and get rid of the virus, instead of waiting for it to "give up".
1022702
It's possible to get a virus anywhere that it's encrypted on the website (Unless youve got antivirus that stops it)
656212
Virus is malicious programming....Like starting something without providing an end to it...\nHacking is the way through which you can break the security on internet
681042
Yes, viruses can totally destroy computer parts...\n\nOne of the most common ways is it will overload your whole system and overheat all your parts and just totally fry your whole motherboard and all the components attached to it...\n\nEDIT: i did say that the most common thing it can do to destroy computer parts is to overheat them...but it is still very very rare...
65416
Definitely the easiest way is to grab something that someone else has written and modify it a little.  In the "biz", people that do this are known as "script kiddies" since they don't have any real knowledge but only how to follow a script.\n\nMost more "original" viruses exploit an existing problem with an existing program or operating system.  Quite often it's due to a "buffer overrun" vulnerability, where the OS allows an application to overwrite memory that doesn't belong to it.  If you're careful, you can overwrite the memory in such a way that the system will interpret it as operating instructions and execute it.  Once you can get it to do that, the system is pwned!!1!
351641
The answer depends on a lot of different factors.  It is possible in some cases with some e-mail programs (like Outlook Express, Eudora, etc.) to get a virus simply by opening an e-mail message.  Yet, this is extremely rare, and many software companies have now updated their software to keep this from happening.  Basically, I wouldn't worry about getting a virus by simply opening an e-mail.\n\nProbably 95% of e-mail virus infections are caused by OPENING AN ATTACHMENT.  This is the easiest way for a virus to infect your computer.  Simply getting the attachment in an e-mail message will not infect your computer.  When you OPEN an attachment is when it infects your computer.  If you don't know what a specific attachment is or if it is from someone you do not know, I suggest that you do not open it.\n\nA simple way of better protecting yourself is to use a good web-based e-mail, like Yahoo!  Yahoo automatically scans all e-mail and attachments for viruses BEFORE they get to you!  Although, scanning an e-mail with an anti-virus program will not always catch all viruses, it is still 99% effective.
497511
use windows live safety scanner.the link is as follows:\nhttp://safety.live.com\nYou must do a full service scan where it will download some components to your system and then perform the scan and remove the virus.
44870
Go to Symantec and run a scan of your machine.  There is a Virus and Security scan.  Run both.  This will ID the virus.  They also have several tools to remove some of the viruses
96926
GO TO:\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virus