Did you let your child play on the latest free game on the kid’s network? Do you like pressing the download button every time it pops up? Have you allowed the neighbor kid to check his email? You may have a virus protection program but if the virus has not been identified yet, it may not have protected you properly.

There are a lot of different types of viruses out there, from worms to polymorphic. They all have cutesy names like creeper, I love you, or Mellissa. They may even be named after a celebrity in order to trick you into opening the file to install them. You may have even just gone to a less than reputable web site and clicked the wrong button. You may have made your computer sick in the process.

There are a couple of different types of viruses and then the programmers put their own spin on them. Here is a short list of a few common ones:

1. Virus – This is a piece of code in the program that may do something bad, allow the bad guy in a backdoor, or be funny. The cookie monster virus was a little program that displayed “I want a cookie” until you typed “OREO”. It was harmless but would come on the screen at random times.

2. Email attachments – These are usually covert in their appearance. They may appear to be a picture from a family member or the latest celebrity. You click on them but it appears to not work. Oops! You installed a virus.

3. Trojan horse – This is a program hidden within a legitimate program, such as a downloaded game. The game will work and everything appears fine but in the background, the virus is installing itself. This virus is named after the actual Trojan horse delivered back in the day with soldiers inside waiting to strike.

4. Worms – This virus will grow or self-replicate, as it eats through your programs. It may start small but then all of your data is gone so it eats a new hole in another connected computer to grow bigger. It may even mail itself to all of your friends.

Viruses can be nasty, funny, or even downright evil. It is a sickness created by the programming community to make something happen. How do you fix it? You should find a virus detection program to stop it or quarantine it if it does happen. May your computer stay healthy!!