Cybercriminals are becoming increasingly adept at obtaining our private information, and viruses are developing quickly. Although there are many millions of viruses around the globe, you should be aware of a few well-known varieties.
In this article, we will look more into the Types of Viruses according to the GATE Syllabus for (Computer Science Engineering) CSE. We will read ahead to find out more about it.
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What is a Virus?
A computer virus refers to a piece of code that is produced with the potential to replicate itself and spread to other programmes on a computer. It is usually embedded in legitimate software. Similar to how a cold or flu affects humans, it can linger inside the system until suddenly reactivating.
There are several ways your computer can get infected with a computer virus because they are designed to propagate from one host to another. It can happen via unsafe URLs, file downloads, email attachments, and software installations. To know more about the difference between computer viruses and malware, click here.
These viruses have the ability to wipe out all of your data and steal data from you, including passwords. They can even get into your social media or online banking accounts. Read more on computer viruses here.
What are the Types of Viruses?
A virus is a piece of code inserted into trustworthy software. Viruses replicate themselves and are made to infect other programmes. By altering or erasing data, they can wreak havoc on a system, resulting in application errors and system crashes. A virus dropper, which is typically a trojan horse, introduces the infection into the system once it has reached the target machine.
File Virus
By adding itself to the end of a file, this kind of virus infects the system. It modifies a program’s beginning so that the control jumps to its code. The control switches back to the main programme after its code has been run. Its execution is little acknowledged. The file virus is also known as a parasitic virus since it destroys all intact files while still allowing the host to function.
Macro Virus
The macro viruses were created using Visual Basic, a high-level language, as opposed to the majority of viruses, which are created using low-level languages, such as C or assembly code. These viruses start when an application that can run macros is launched. For instance, spreadsheet files may include macro viruses.
Boot Sector Virus
Every time the system boots and before the OS is loaded, the boot sector virus runs since it has infected the boot sector of the computer. Floppy discs and other bootable media are infected by these viruses. Since the boot sector viruses don’t affect file systems, they are also referred to as memory viruses.
Source Code Virus
Source code viruses search for source code, alter it to add the virus, and aid in its transmission.
Encrypted Virus
This kind of infection exists in encrypted form in order to evade antivirus detection. It also carries a decryption algorithm. So the virus decrypts first before running.
Polymorphic Virus
Virus signatures are patterns that can be used to recognise viruses (a series of information/bytes that make up virus code). So a polymorphic virus alters itself every time it is implanted in order to escape being detected by antivirus software. The virus’s signature alters, but its functioning will not change.
Stealth Virus
Because it alters the coding that can be used to detect it, the stealth virus is exceedingly evasive. As a result, virus identification is highly challenging. It might modify the read system function, for instance, such that if a user requests to read code that has been altered by a virus, the original form of the code is displayed rather than the infected code.
Tunnelling Virus
By inserting itself into the interrupt handler chain, the tunnelling virus tries to avoid being picked up by antivirus software. During the course of a tunnelling virus, interceptor programs, which operate in the background of an OS and detect viruses, are deactivated. Device drivers can become infected with similar malware.
Armoured Virus
An armoured virus is built to be challenging for antivirus software to decipher and comprehend. It does this through a variety of strategies, such as tricking antivirus into thinking its location is different from the truth or employing compression to make its code more complex.
Multipartite Virus
The boot sector, RAM, and files are just a few of the areas of a system that a multipartite virus might infect. This makes it challenging to find and stop these kinds of virus attacks.
Browser Hijacker
The browser hijacker virus can modify browser settings and, as its name suggests, is programmed to attack the user’s browser. Because it sends your browser to other harmful websites that can affect your computer system, it is also known as the “browser redirect virus.”
Resident Virus
Installed resident viruses store data in your RAM and interfere with your device’s functionality. They are so cunning that they might even connect to the files in your anti-virus software.
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