Computer viruses are specifically designed to corrupt your device and disrupt its overall performance. In simple words, it’s a complete nightmare. We’ll walk you through the most dangerous computer viruses as well as some preventive measures against these.
These viruses can not only degrade the overall health of your system but also steal your private information. They may turn your device into a zombie, make it go dead for hours and turn your pc into a complete mess. Over time, these viruses have only grown in size and have left millions of panicking people around the globe.
Let’s have a quick look at some of the most dangerous viruses that we have seen in the last few decades.
- Code Red: Known to affect two out of 6 million IIS servers, Code red was first detected in 2001 and targeted Microsoft IIS users. It was a self-replicating virus that provided remote access to hackers and displayed a warning message saying “Hacked By Chinese”.
- My Doom: This deadly virus managed to take Google off-air for almost a day. It is popular for its fast speed and every 1 email out of 12 was infected with a worm and came with a warning message and attachment saying “Mail Transaction Failed”. A single click on the link would spread the virus and leave the system infected.
- ILOVEU: This destructive virus first originated in the Philippines in 2000 and caused damage of around $10 billion. It was a spam email campaign that spread emails having “ILOVEU” as the subject line. Apart from this, it was also embedded with an infected attachment file named “LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.txt.vbs”. A mere click on the files could execute the virus and infect the PC.
- Melissa: Originated in 1999 Melissa was spread in the form of a word file claiming to include the login credentials of popular adult websites. Upon opening, the virus would send emails to your top 50 contacts. Although the virus was not created to steal data it did a lot of damage to government agencies and corporates.
- Cryptolocker: This was the first-ever Ransomware attack that aimed to lock the victim’s PC and demanded ransom for unlocking it. A massive amount of ransom was paid under this attack and accounts at approximately $27 million.
Useful ways to protect your device from these dangerous computer viruses
- Don’t open emails from unknown sources.
- Use a strong antivirus program.
- Always use a strong password to lock your device and other important online accounts. Experts recommend a mix of alphabets, numbers and special characters.
- Always use an performant ad-blocker on your device and take regular system backup.
- Do not click on suspicious emails with downloadable attachments and links.
- Use a pop-up blocker and keep your device up-to-date.
So, this is it, folks, with time computer viruses have taken a deadly shape which makes it important for us to take all necessary preventive measures. Use powerful antivirus software and practice utmost vigilance while using your computer.
