A computer virus is a self-propagating program. Since most computer viruses cause damage, they are considered malicious programs.
The way a computer virus works is similar to that of a biological virus: the computer virus injects its program code into another program, a boot sector or RAM. He uses them as a host program. When this host program is started, the virus program is also activated and executes its code. The virus can therefore only become active when its host program is started. Viruses spread in a variety of ways, including:
You can come into contact with computer viruses via their typical transmission channels – including e-mail attachments, macros in documents and USB sticks. In your everyday work, you probably encounter the topic more often in the form of the company’s own virus scanner. You can also use this specifically to check USB sticks and external hard drives, for example, before use.
Most cybersecurity measures also serve to protect against computer viruses. These include, in particular:
Information from the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) on the subject of virus scanners, including warnings about fraudulent virus scanners and recommendations of reputable programs:
