Talk:Computer virus

Note: revisions of this article between June 28 and September 11, 2002 are at Virus (computing).

I have a question about viruses...

Ever since listening to Weird Al Yankovic's song "Virus Alert", I've had a question that's been bugging me. How do people create viruses without the new software immediately executing and wrecking its creator's files? Is there some sort of "virus cap" or something? I'm not a hacker or anything, just an extremely curious computer user... and I'd like to know how viruses don't just blow up in their makers' faces!!!! --Luigifan (talk) 13:20, 13 January 2009 (UTC)

What you're asking (if I've got it right) is, why don't viruses infect their creator's computer? Well, I'm guessing they probably do. Either that, or a simple "if date=" might also suffice, but that would be risky and it would effectively create a way of neutralising the virus. So, in essence, the answer is probably that they do indeed blow up in their makers' face, then spread out from there. - Jarry1250 ^{(t, c)} 15:30, 13 January 2009 (UTC)

Viruses are just .exe files typically. They just don't run the files.69.110.234.99 (talk) 23:16, 19 January 2009 (UTC)

I imagine that virus writers have to run their viruses to check that they work, just like any programmer must do. No programmer can ever be sure of how a program works without testing it. As an anti-virus researcher, I routinely executed viruses to check that they worked as my investigation of the code indicated they would. Naturally, I had a computer set up specifically for this purpose (wiping it afterwards), and virus writers almost certainly have at least one extra computer with nothing important on it, just for messing with viruses.

Your assumption that a virus would immediately run amok and damage the writer's computer files is very unlikely anyway. Most viruses don't do any damage at all. Those that do don't trigger immediately, as that would limit their ability to spread to other computers. The virus writer would know what triggered the payload, if there was one, and would be in control of it, though he would almost certainly deliberately trigger it, to be sure it worked. There are, however, many examples of virus code that don't work as intended, or at all, indicating that some virus writers don't test thoroughly or test on computers configured differently than the one they are working on. TheNameWithNoMan (talk) 00:05, 20 January 2009 (UTC)

router

can a router get virus? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.37.64.225 (talk) 12:30, 16 February 2009 (UTC)

This is not a general forum for discussion on computer viruses. For a place more likely to answer your question, see the reference desk. ←Spidern→ 02:36, 27 March 2009 (UTC)

The article Virus programming has been nominated for deletion.

The article Virus programming, which was created on February 10, 2009, has been nominated for deletion via WP:PROD. Editors of this page might want to consider merging it or making it a redirect. ☺Coppertwig (talk) 02:19, 7 March 2009 (UTC)

How to make a virus

I am for a section on this. 68.50.122.83 (talk) 02:07, 3 April 2009 (UTC)

Write a program that does something bad. There you go. 75.159.101.125 (talk) 02:30, 11 April 2009 (UTC)

"Bad" doesn't define a virus. It has to be capable of replication. Many viruses do nothing else, though unauthorised replication is bad enough. We don't have a "how to" section because this is an encyclopaedia, not a cook book.TheNameWithNoMan (talk) 08:11, 11 April 2009 (UTC)

Microsoft Windows a Virus

I'm not doing this to create spam or debate, but Windows is a virus by the first sentence of this article. Did I know that my first ever computer would come with Windows? Nope, and I was ten years old at the time, old enough to know who Bill Gates is. Did the manufacturer have my permission to use Windows? Nope. Do new users to computers know that Windows will come on their computers? Probably not. Does the manufacturer have the permission of the new user to do that? Not at all.

Again, this isn't to create spam or debate, just an observation from a Linux person.

--Pikidalto (talk) 18:10, 24 April 2009 (UTC)

You certainly should have known which operating system came with your computer when you bought it. It is part of the specification. 10 year olds don't pay much attention to such things of course, but I expect whoever did the paying knew. I understand from the media that the current "OS expectation" problem is that users buying netbooks or the like sometimes don't realise that they are getting some flavour of Linux rather than Windows, and they may be upset when they find out. Read the specs before buying. This isn't the place to champion any particular OS. TheNameWithNoMan (talk) 08:29, 25 April 2009 (UTC)

Demented3000 (talk) 04:56, 14 July 2009 (UTC)demented3000 I have to agree, this is not a cook book, and the spread of this malicious software should not be encouraged. The codes i personally create are Matrix viruses, one of the most harmful kind, but i only do this to practice my c++ and notepad skills. If these codes got into the hands of someone who did not know how to maintain control, there would be a lot of trouble headed my way. And just for clarification i DO NOT send these codes across the web with malicious intent.

computer virus

computer virus is a program who follow the command(instruction)of the creater of the program not the owner it can be spyware addware worm —Preceding unsigned comment added by Getnikkoo (talk • contribs) 12:10, 28 April 2009 (UTC)

Not really Getnikko. What you're describing could be a Trojan horse, which pretends to do what the user says but in reality does what the creator has programmed into it. Computer virus HAS to have the ability to self-replicate, using host programs. Hunan Rostomyan (talk) 03:18, 19 July 2009 (UTC)

Relevance of focus on OS

The section's "The vulnerability of operating systems to viruses" focus on user accounts, I think is overstating the relevance of user accounts to virus propagation and activity.

Nowadays, most infections occur without interaction through exploits. Even if the exploit does not provide full privileges immediately, there are many local Privilege escalation exploits. Even if the system is perfectly locked down, it wouldn't affect most of today's viruses, who spread by sending e-mails or IMs, or scanning for vulnerable remote systems. And even if it was limited to one user, it could still steal, damage, or infect any of the files accessible by that user. With the rise of internet banking, etc, stealing information can be one of the most damaging things a virus can do.

Not saying that least privilege is bad; it might have been worthy of such a high pedestal 10 years ago, now it's just part of a layered defense. --HamburgerRadio (talk) 18:06, 22 August 2009 (UTC)

Intro section

The first two paragraphs need a comprehensive rewrite. They have become clumsy from continual bitty alterations, and now say the same thing three times. I suggest that a shorter single para be written and posted here first to allow any objections to be known before it is placed in the article. TheNameWithNoMan (talk) 08:04, 25 November 2009 (UTC)

Really Need a Citation? (PDFs can link)

In the Vectors and Hosts section, it says we need a citation for the statement: "PDFs, like HTML, may link to malicious code." What is the citation needed for? That PDFs can link, or that links can point to malicious code? This seems silly to me. un4v41l48l3 (talk) 05:22, 1 December 2009 (UTC)