Anti-Virus
Computer virus is a computer program which reproduces. The term is commonly used to refer to a range of viruses, but a true virus does not need to be harmful. To distribute itself, a virus needs execution or otherwise be interpreted. Viruses often hide themselves inside other programs to be executed.
There are tens of thousands of viruses operating in the general Internet today, and new ones are discovered every day. While a generic explanation of how viruses work is difficult due to the wide variety of infection or spreading patterns, there are broad categories commonly used to describe various types of viruses.
Some viruses are programmed to damage the computer by damaging programs, deleting files, or reformatting the hard disk. Others are not designed to do any damage, but simply replicate themselves and make their presence known by presenting text, video, or audio messages. Even these benign viruses can create problems for the computer user. They typically take up computer memory used by legitimate programs. As a result, they often cause erratic behavior and can result in system crashes. In addition, many viruses are bug-ridden, and these bugs may lead to system crashes and data loss.
Active PCs for MAINE participants get Anti-Virus software (Avast!).