Most people who have never had a serious computer virus issue before might not think too much about these computer problems. However, when you consult some of the people who have had the misfortune of having one infect their computer, the damage that is done can come as huge proportions. This is why many of the companies that depend on IT spend a lot of money on measures that are aimed at reducing the risk of being susceptible to such viruses.
However, have you ever wondered which viruses are the worst? In the world of computing, most of the viruses tend to be nothing more than annoyances that can easily be gotten rid of. However, there are some that have gotten into the history books as being the worst including:
MyDoom
This was a virus that spread itself through email attachments. Once a computer owner opened an email that had the virus, it would then download itself, copy the addresses in that computer’s address book and then resend itself to all the contacts in that address book. It was in this way that it managed to cause more than $38 billion worth of damage.
Cryptolocker
This is an entirely new type of virus known as ransomware. Basically, it restricts access to all the files in your computer, and only allows you to open them after you have paid some money to an address that it specifies. Since it relies on the use of bitcoins to do so, it is very difficult to trace the people who are responsible for the virus.
Alureon
This is a Trojan that has many effects on a computer, including theft of information including passwords and credit card details. It also has the potential to make a computer practically unusable. It does this by changing some of the settings that a user will need to access the desktop as well as the task manager. This means that once it starts running, you will find it very difficult to use the computer as you regularly do, have problems getting rid of the virus and also have your information stolen.
Conficker
This is a virus that was released in 2007. Its main effect was to create an infrastructure that could be used for cybercrime around the world. One of the other effects that it had was to reduce the usability of a computer network, which would then make it more difficult for people to access IT services when needed.
Agent.btz
This virus was mainly spread through infected flash drives. In the process, it ended up disabling the computer in question, and also collected information from it as well. The destructive capacity of this virus was so great that it caused the Pentagon to ban the use of any flash drives within their premises.
PoisonIvy
This is a particularly virulent type of computer virus. It is designated as a Trojan, and can be used to control any computer remotely. This means that once it’s installed in your computer, you may be locked out of it and may have a hard time getting rid of it as well. The virus can allow one access to hardware such as the webcam and the speakers.
Stuxnet
As far as destructive viruses are concerned, this is probably the prototype of them all. A demonstration of the capability of this virus is that it was able to shut down an entire uranium enrichment facility, which is usually operated using highly secured computer systems.
As you can imagine, there are new threats that arise in the world of computing. However, by simply doing things such as using the right antivirus and regularly updating your operating system, you can protect yourself from some of these. You may also need to adopt some behavioural measures such as not opening email attachments that seem suspect, or downloading files from sites you can’t trust.