Do Computer Viruses Evolve? The Internet has been likened to a living, breathing, evolving life form since its inception. And just like with regular life forms, the viruses that afflict computers connected to the Internet have been evolving in reaction to the how the Internet evolves.
The Sword and the Shield
Another analogy that can help to describe how viruses evolve in time to the Internet is that of the evolution of the sword and the shield. They evolve in time to one another. For example, when plate mail started becoming prevalent in the late Middle Ages, it wasn’t long after until you had plate mail piercing arrows. In the same way, many viruses are created by people who have a good understanding of antivirus programs. Many such viruses will target big name programs like anti-virus from Norton right away. Their first step after infecting a computer will be to make it impossible for any user to open an antivirus program.
These types of viruses are almost like anti-immune diseases, targeting the very means used to combat them right off the bat.
Computer Virus Mutations
Another example of evolution when it comes to computer viruses is the viruses that evolved to escape detection by antivirus programs specifically. For example, some viruses will use encryption techniques to avoid detection by a simple matching of strings, which is how many antivirus programs locate malicious software. By encrypting the code after it installs, this makes it harder to detect, and it also makes it harder for other users and programs to access and modify the code.
Re-infecting
Some viruses have “evolved” by infecting root keys on a computer, so that even if you find and delete a piece of the virus, the virus will simply have a mechanism by which it re-infects your system by re-executing as soon as you try to delete it. If you aren’t carefully, you’ll end up just spreading the virus further and further if you try to just delete it normally. It may be possible to detect a program that looks shady on your hard drive and attempt to delete it yourself, but this sort of reinfection is exactly why you need professional antivirus software that will do everything in the right order and in a way that prevents this sort of behavior.
Trojans
The proliferation of email in modern times has made many viruses so that they infect your computer even by just opening an email. Unsafe web browsing practices have caused some viruses to evolve by infecting computers that do nothing more than visit an unsafe site. The Trojan could download as part of the instructions on the site, without you ever giving permission. This sort of evolution occurs because of the increasing number of Internet browsers that don’t have any computer knowledge.
Antivirus Cures
By the same token, many programs have evolved to deal with trends in viruses. This is why getting the best antivirus software is so important. Many crews on these projects will target their research on even specific types of viruses, and develop methods for doing things like cracking viral encryption, or whatever specific trick new viruses are using. And so the great dance between virus and antivirus continues. The important thing is to stay on the cutting edge of the best antivirus so that you stay ahead of the curve.
This is a guest post by Lindsey Mcmahon. She likes to travel, play and read in her free time. Her interests are entertainment, television and tech but she is constantly extending her field of view to incorporate interesting news suggested to her by her readers.