Article: Understanding computer viruses - part 1

AFTER MY first column on computer viruses about 10 years ago, some upset readers called to suggest that I was talking about a problem that really did not exist. A few months later, a virus spread over the Internet (which at the time was used primarily by schools and government entities) and made headlines across the nation. Since then, an entire industry has developed to defend computer systems against viruses.

If you've been using e-mail for a while, you probably have received messages with warnings about computer viruses. While many of the messages appear plausible, most frequently are hoaxes. How can you differentiate between a legitimate virus message and a hoax? The following ...

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