[dark_j]

What is the importance of computer virus?

This post has been edited by dark_j: 05 February 2009 - 04:14 AM

[5ubw0r1d]

dark_j, on 5 Feb, 2009 - 03:13 AM, said:

What is the importance of computer virus?

I think you need to clarify what you mean by that question.

[ValPaliy]

Back in the days when they were mainly messing-up the systems, they were important. Now, when people use computer to buy things online, viruses are even more important, but as I use Linux, computer viruses are of little concern to me. It's the rootkits I have to watch for now...

This post has been edited by ValPaliy: 05 February 2009 - 07:37 AM

[ayman_mastermind]

Quote

What is the importance of computer virus?

well computer viruses are only important to those who create them and not to those who get infected by them of course... those who write computer viruses mainly are programmers who face psychological problems in their lives, they hate the society and environment and they want to harm people just becuase their own lives are miserable, while some write viruses because they have nothing to do and want to show the world what they can and want to be famous(show off) or even some write some strong and really effective viruses to show their skills in an attempt so that anti-virus and firewall companies would employ them on their side... In addition to that, computer viruses play crucial roles in wars as they are sometimes written to sabotage facilities, such as missile launching systems and other, and thus computer viruses would have a strategic value on the level of wars and their technologies, for instance, i once read in a magazine that in the first war of USA on Iraq(1990s) Operation Desert Storm, the US Army forces were able to send a virus into the Iraqi SCUD Missile launch systems and air defense missile systems that sabotaged them completely and gave an advantage to U.S. forces to advance with more, have better air support and ensured that their bases in the Middle East were safe from SCUD attacks... thats what i think is the only advantage of viruses(taking advantage in modern warfare) other than that, computer viruses are useless and they just harm people and you lose your time programming them instead of programming something useful...

[jacobjordan]

Computer viruses have no importance. They are a pain for everyone. It's only because we have sad evil programmers out there that have nothing better to do than sit on their fat asses all day long writing viruses and hacking bank accounts.

[no2pencil]

dark_j, on 5 Feb, 2009 - 05:13 AM, said:

What is the importance of computer virus?

Sounds like a study question Best of luck with your homework.

[Hyper]

ayman_mastermind, on 5 Feb, 2009 - 08:39 AM, said:

Quote

What is the importance of computer virus?

well computer viruses are only important to those who create them and not to those who get infected by them of course... those who write computer viruses mainly are programmers who face psychological problems in their lives, they hate the society and environment and they want to harm people just becuase their own lives are miserable, while some write viruses because they have nothing to do and want to show the world what they can and want to be famous(show off) or even some write some strong and really effective viruses to show their skills in an attempt so that anti-virus and firewall companies would employ them on their side... In addition to that, computer viruses play crucial roles in wars as they are sometimes written to sabotage facilities, such as missile launching systems and other, and thus computer viruses would have a strategic value on the level of wars and their technologies, for instance, i once read in a magazine that in the first war of USA on Iraq(1990s) Operation Desert Storm, the US Army forces were able to send a virus into the Iraqi SCUD Missile launch systems and air defense missile systems that sabotaged them completely and gave an advantage to U.S. forces to advance with more, have better air support and ensured that their bases in the Middle East were safe from SCUD attacks... thats what i think is the only advantage of viruses(taking advantage in modern warfare) other than that, computer viruses are useless and they just harm people and you lose your time programming them instead of programming something useful...

1) You've no idea, don't blow smoke where it doesn't belong.
2) Showing off simple knowledge? Think about what a "virus" is, look up the technical defintion. Now refer to HAL.dll
3) Now that I can totally agree on with you. If you know how they're written, you'll know how to stop them, assuming there is indeed a way.

To the military advantages and uses of computer viruses, that's very true. Faulty software can cause lives when you depend on it, which is what makes it so great.

Don't rely on anything or anyone but yourself, because you will never let yourself down.

EDIT: Oh, just realized I didn't answer the last thing you'd said...
Computer "viruses" are by any and all means; anything but useless. Without disease and defects, where are our Hospitals and Gene pools? Without thieves, where are our guards? And "anti-theft" devices. Computer viruses employ people, they generate jobs.

Without disease and pestilance, there would be no life, only a simple life, like that of the Amish. There would be a lacking of food, room, growth, the world would become over-populated and we'd kill ourselves. To those of you who frown on death, I frown on you. It's the cycle of life.... deal with it

PS: If anybody has a hard time or trouble converting the analogy above to computer viruses, feel free to say how "off topic" I am and I'll point out the blaintly obvious to you, thanks~

This post has been edited by Hyper: 05 February 2009 - 08:56 PM

[FrozenSnake]

ayman_mastermind, on 5 Feb, 2009 - 04:39 PM, said:

those who write computer viruses mainly are programmers who face psychological problems in their lives, they hate the society and environment and they want to harm people just becuase their own lives are miserable

I do not agree with you. Some might be as you describe but I think the majority are just like you and me. I think viruses are important because they make the developers of system and applications more aware of creating good code and not just things that work.

If DIC wouldn't care about security anyone could upload malicious code that executes scripts from a malicious site and infect my computer with viruses. So viruses make people aware of security and try to make their app/system/website/etc as secure as possible.

[Hyper]

FrozenSnake, here's #1 virus that'll work on any system:

while (true) { char SuckUpSpace = new char; }

[FrozenSnake]

Hyper, on 6 Feb, 2009 - 03:58 AM, said:

FrozenSnake, here's #1 virus that'll work on any system:

while (true) { char SuckUpSpace = new char; }

Wouldn't call that a virus

"A computer virus is a computer program that can copy itself and infect a computer without the permission or knowledge of the user." :]

[Hyper]

That'd be a worm; To copy itself.

[no2pencil]

The definition of a virus is software that can self replicate. It doesn't have to be malicious in nature. Just the same, purely malicious code is not, by definition a virus. It's malicious code

[numerical_jerome]

Quote

computer viruses are useless and they just harm people and you lose your time programming them instead of programming something useful... smile.gif

When I was an undergrad I built a homemade cluster that I controlled through what fit the technical definitions of viruses (i.e. self replicating code). Using what would better be described as crappy automated telnet, this cluster was used in some of our NDE (thats non-destructive evaluation) research to reduce experimental data. Recorded vibrations were sent out, with each machine busily performing an A$$ load of fast fourier transforms, trying to find the signature of a crack in a metal plate (a surprisingly difficult task when the vibrations don't just "bonce" off).

This was funded in part by NASA and AFRL, with the end goal being to better predict and find cracks and blemished buried deep within aircraft and spacecraft, and both save lives and reduce the cost of successfully deploying civilian and military aerospace structures.

This research was aimed at making the wold a better place, it could not have happened without the cluster, the cluster could not have been managed as efficiently without my Virus-like Telnet code (which incidentally never left my cluster, and if it did would not have been able to survive "in the wild" anyway). So I guess in this instance, you are egregiously mistaken. QED

-Jerome

[Hyper]

Quote

adj.
Conspicuously bad or offensive. See Synonyms at flagrant.

Pressure checks find holes. Water can too, but air just works better.

[MonkeyNuTz]

Has anybody everwonder if the anti-virus companies companies themselves create some of the virus out there? I know in the past I've downloaded a few of them that have caused me more problems than they're worth.