Computer viruses list

The virus may automatically download unwanted files on your computer or may redirect you to malicious websites. Browser Hijacker These types of viruses usually infect the web browser of the computer. They 'hijacks' certain functions of the browser and handle them accordingly. Typically, the homepage of your browser may change to a particular site. Or if you enter any specific domain address in the URL address bar, the browser hijacker will redirect you to multiple fake websites that may harm your computer.

These types are viruses are generally used to earn revenue from web ads. Once the virus gets access to the address book, it starts sending spam or fake e-mails to the addresses saved in the address book of the particular e-mail program. Encrypted Virus Encrypted viruses are written and encrypted with malicious codes which make it tough for anti-viruses to detect them. These viruses can only be detected when they decrypt themselves during replication.

However, they can drastically reduce the performance of the computer system. Companion Virus Companion viruses cannot live without joining an existing file or folder. To cause damage, the file or folder associated with the companion virus must be opened or run. The most popular examples of companion viruses are Terrax. The virus may further replicate through shared resources such as drives and folders. Also Check : Types of Computer Networks Multiple Characteristic Viruses Apart from the above-mentioned viruses, there are some other viruses with different characteristics and different capabilities.

They are not technically considered viruses, but they act like viruses and can cause the same damage. This includes malware, worm, spyware, adware, Trojan, and ransomware. Summary Depending on the type of computer virus, they can perform various types of actions. Some viruses are not so harmful, but some are.

To protect your computer from viruses, install an anti-virus program and keep it up-to-date. There are several free anti-virus, but, it is recommended to always use good quality premium anti-virus software on your computer. Types of Computer Viruses. A computer is an electronic device that can be seen in any organization, whether it is large or small. Let's start with the definition of a computer virus:. A computer virus can spread through internet downloads, e-mail attachments, the infected removable disk, social media scam links, etc.

Some common signs of computer virus attack are given below:. We have explained all the types of computer viruses that can affect your computer. Check out the computer viruses list below:. The boot sector virus came into existence when the floppy disk was the primary source of booting the computer. File deleting viruses are designed in such a way that they can automatically delete files on your computer system.

Directory viruses change the paths for the files. Direct action viruses attack on a particular type of file, typically. Unlike direct action viruses, resident viruses install themselves directing into the primary memory of your system. Most of the viruses are spread via one method or deliver a single payload.

Macro viruses are designed using the same macro programming languages used for MS office package or other macro-based software applications. Polymorphic viruses are very difficult to detect or remove. Retroviruses are different types of viruses. Sasser worked by scanning random IP addresses, connecting to the computers using them via a vulnerable port, and instructing them to download the virus using a buffer overflow in Windows and Windows XP.

Netsky was spread by email and enticing recipients to open an attachment. In , a German student was arrested on suspicion of creating the viruses. Named after the Russian tennis player, the Anna Kournikova was more of a joke than anything more sinister and designed to exploit that fact that in the early-nineties, Anna Kournikova was one of the most searched for terms on the internet.

When users clicked the link, instead of reading a news story, they download a virus that then turned their computer into a bot that re-distributed the email.

The boot sector was moved to another sector and marked as bad. Meanwhile text was written into the infected sectors which, remarkably, included the virus authors names and telephone numbers. These are just ten of the thousands of well-known viruses that have attacked computers over the last several decades.

There are several available for Mac and PC that will scan your computer for free. If you have a Mac, you can also use the malware utility in CleanMyMac X to regularly scan your Mac and keep it safe from viruses. The best protection, however, is common sense. How To. Hit Return or Enter to search. What are the top 10 viruses of all times? Igor Degtiarenko. Writer and blogger at MacPaw, curious just about everything. It was named by McAfee employee Craig Schmugar, one of the people who had originally discovered it.

The worm spreads itself by appearing as an email transmission error and contains an attachment of itself. The payload itself is twofold: first it opens up a backdoor to allow remote access and second it launches a denial of service attack on the controversial SCO Group.

It was believed that the worm was created to disrupt SCO due to conflict over ownership of some Linux code. CryptoLocker is a form of Trojan horse ransomware targeted at computers running Windows. It uses several methods to spread itself , such as email, and once a computer is infected, it will proceed to encrypt certain files on the hard drive and any mounted storage connected to it with RSA public key cryptography.

While it is easy enough to remove the malware from the computer, the files will still remain encrypted. The only way to unlock the files is to pay a ransom by a deadline. If the deadline is not met, the ransom will increase significantly or the decryption keys deleted.

The ransom operation was eventually stopped when law enforcement agencies and security companies managed to take control part of the botnet operating CryptoLocker and Zeus. Evgeniy Bogachev, the ring leader, was charged and the encryption keys were released to the affected computers. From data collected from the raid, the number of infections is estimated to be ,, with the number of those who paid the ransom to be at 1.

Though not as damaging as the rest of the malware on this list, this is one of the few Mac malware to have gain notoriety as it showed that Macs are not immune. The Trojan was first discovered in by antivirus company Intego as a fake Flash install. In its newer incarnation, a user simply needs to have Java enabled which is likely the majority of us. It propagates itself by using compromised websites containing JavaScript code that will download the payload. Once installed, the Mac becomes part of a botnet of other infected Macs.

The bad news is that more than , Macs were infected, including Macs in the Cupertino area, the headquarters of Apple. It is still out in the wild, with an estimate of 22, Macs still infected as of It is also executed whenever the script is loaded. Macro viruses focus on language commands in Microsoft word.

Similar comments are applied to other programs. The macros are keywords that are deployed on sequences for commands. The macro viruses are built to add their malicious code to the macro sequence in a word document. Cyber attackers use social engineering to target the user. The user can enable macros to load the virus. The word document error is overcome in the version Office It can be accessed for trusted work and blocked if required across the company. The rootkit virus is secretly installed an illegal rootkit on an affected process which opens the gate for hackers and accesses the complete system.

The hacker can disable or modify the functions. Unlike other viruses, it is designed to surpass antivirus software. The updated version of vital antivirus involves rootkit scanning.

The boot-record infectors affect the code found in a particular system area on a disk. But these viruses are not common these days since it relies on physical storage media. Creeper is not a dangerous virus but its self-replication. Once it affects the system, it creates a pop-up message, like catch me if you can.