What is the WORST a virus could do to your computer?

[Cant_Break_That_Pig]

My mom got a virus on her computer that wouldnt let her even leave the desktop. I was wondering if a virus could do worse than that?

Plus which files are most likely to hold a virus. Like if i download something and the file extention says exe. or whatever.
and whats the best antivirus?
i use norton and its been pretty good. it prevents me from downloading stuff with viruses and spyware

[Dan Roe]

It could run out of ram and then megabyte all your cookies

[CHICKEN BURRITO]

I use Norton Security.
There was 'The Worm" virus, that actually targeted country government computers. It is still bad, but the WORST I can think of Red Worm. If you watch videos on Youtube, there are viruses that pretend to say. "WARNING: There are (#) of viruses on your computer! Click here to install, (I've heard of spynet, cybernet, etc.) To get rid of the viruses!" If you get that pop up, and it won't go away, immediately do a virus scan, if on a windows computer go to- Start, and search WINDOWS DEFENDER. It's a security system already on Window's computers. Not the best though. Hope I helped.

[Nick G]

Hi,

Sorry to hear about your mum's virus. They are fucking annoying, I know!

Well, basically, the worst thing a virus could do is delete everything including the Windows folder and stop your computer from ever working again! Not nice!

As for the best antivirus, there are many good products on the market, and it's hard to know what is best. NOD32 is supposed to be good but I've picked up viruses with it! Norton AntiVirus is known to be crap so stay away from that.

I reccommend Avira Antivirus, which is really good and free - http://www.free-av.com <-- That's what I run and I swear by it. You will need to uninstall your existing antivirus before installing a new one, and should only ever run one at any time.

You should also make sure that you have a good firewall - Windows Firewall is crap. I reccommend COMODO - http://www.comodo.com/home/internet-secu...rewall.php . It can be a little difficult for not very experienced computer users, but it's a good firewall. If it asks you if you want other internet security options with it, say "yes" to all except antivirus.

There are many other anti-malware programs which you can download, but they must be compatible with each other and anti-virus.

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware (http://www.malwarebytes.org/) is great and is fully compatible with Avira, COMODO and SuperAntiSpyware.

SuperAntiSpyware (http://www.superantispyware.com/) is also great and is fully compatible with Avira, COMODO and Malwarebytes.

If you are running Windows then remember to install all updates (or all updates except those with "Geuine" in the title if you are unsure how genuine your Microsoft products are) because Windows Updates do help keep your computer secure!

If you are unsure what is running on your computer and if it is good or bad, download HijackThis (http://www.hijackthis.de/). The software can scan your computer and then you can copy and paste the report into the website and it will give you a lot more information about your computer.

Also, if you have problems deleting files which say you do not have access, use Unlocker (http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/Syst...er.shtml).

Remember to scan your computer regularly, keep your security settings high, and ask others if you are unsure. There are many computer professionals who give free help online (on Facebook, on computer forums, etc.) so do ask for advice if you need it!

Good luck with cleaning your mum's computer!

[brisray]

A virus cannot harm the hardware. There was a virus called CIH or Chernobyl that took advantage of a combination of Windows 95, 98 or Me and a particular type of chip. This virus did a lot of damage to some of these computers as it was able to overwrite the BIOS firmware to the extent that some of the infected computers BIOS chips had to be replaced - but that was back in 1998. I suppose a virus may cause the processor to do so much work it could try and overheat it - but nearly all computers have thermal cutouts and will turn themselves off before the CPU is damaged. I suppose a virus could be written to move the hard drive heads so rapidly that they become damaged but I've not heard of any of either type of viruses.

For the things the worst computer viruses can do see http://www.catalogs.com/info/travel-vaca...ruses.html

Viruses can hide in all sorts of computer files and it's easy to name an exe file to anything you want. For example - your_worst_nightmare.exe can easily be renamed something_nice_for_you.exe.
You may also find something like this lovely_song.mp3 .exe

Malware can infext all sorts of files, Word documents (in scripts), audio and image files - but those a pretty rare.

As for a good anti-virus program then any mainline program will offer good protection and everyone has their favorite. I like Microsoft Security Essentials - http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/ which is free.

[Grrr..]

The worst and increasingly common is to steal passwords and monitor keystrokes then send them to a baddie.Identity theft is very popular nowadays and baddies want to harvest as many personal details as they can.

The next level is to use your computer to send spam and to launch 'DOS attacks' on some website the baddie wants to bring down.DOS (denial of service) attacks require a lot of computers to be infected and to be under the control of the baddie.'Botnets',they`re called and they can be bought and sold by criminal types..

Then there are the advertising related viruse/spyware that just push ads in your face and direct you to web sites.

And of course the fake programs (fake anti virus programs..fake tune up programs etc) that tell you that you have a virus or a computer problem and that you have to buy the program to fix it.

As for the best anti-virus : Educate yourself about viruses and spyware (see above).
That is the BEST security you can have.

If you want a program or two to help you : Comodo firewall (free) and Avira anti virus (if you must have an AV)
If you want to pay for a program (some people feel safer paying) then 'Nod32' is good and Norton 360 is half decent.

[Jordan Mace]

The worst thing a virus can do is shut off your computer, delete all your files, and never let you turn it on AGAIN, also, the best anti-virus is Kaspasky, its really really good, i used norton then installed Kaspasky and Kaspasky found about 40-50 viruses on my computer!

[abCa]

Steal your Credit Card information.