What Do Viruses Do?

Some aggressive viruses—such as the Melissa virus—automatically duplicate copies of itself to the first 50 people in your computer email address book. A frightening prospect— opening an email from someone you trust to be greeted by a virus, and that’s exactly what the author is counting on, your trust. The damage caused by these viruses varies from minor delays in computer function to complete destruction of your hard drive. For companies, the price is far higher. A downed website can cost a company millions of dollars a day.