The Most Dangerous Computer Viruses and How to Recognize Them

Having a virus in your computer is a nightmare. While some viruses are harmless, others could be very dangerous as they may damage or destroy your data and files. A computer virus is unlike any pathogen that causes a little fever and eventually leaves your body with lots of fluid and rest.
It's a program that spreads quickly by first infecting the system areas of the computer or the files or the network router's hard drive and start making copies of it on its own. It wreaks havoc by making devastating alterations to your hard drive, deleting files, and damaging programs. All these things then affect your computer's performance, resulting in slow and unsafe activities.

An Introduction to the Most Dangerous Computer Viruses

Pretty much everyone who has a computer knows that having antivirus software is a must. For added security, a lot of people not only use an antivirus but also a VPN. Some of them use VPNs with lots of servers to ensure there's complete security at all times.

Yes, when used in combination, an antivirus and VPN, they both provide 100% protection to your device from viruses and malware. However, some viruses are immune to antivirus software and VPNs. As the tech world and cybersecurity is evolving, so are the viruses and malware. According to cybersecurity experts, more than 450,000 new computer viruses/scams are found on a daily basis. While most people think it's not something to worry about as they're taking precautions, we'll say it's merely a matter of time before your computer gets infected with one. In other words, it's more common than you know.

Moreover, some viruses are more dangerous than the others. The following are a few deadlier computer viruses that can turn your computer upside down:

Mydoom

The first one on the list is Mydoom. Known as the deadliest computer virus in history, Mydoom has been responsible for approximately $38 billion worth of damage in the early 2000s. It laid the foundation for phishing scams. Starting with scrapping contact details, typically email addresses, from infected machines, Mydoom then sends copies of itself to each email address. Although a lot of work has been done in eliminating it, it's still around. And even today, it's responsible for most phishing scams.

ILOVEYOU

The virus with an adorable name, it has caused a lot of damage in the recent years and continues to do. It's more or less similar to Mydoom as it also sends copies of viruses to all the email addresses present in the infected machine.
It was first found in 2000 and experts tell us that what initially appeared to be harmless took merely a few minutes to spread to almost 10 million computers across the world. In total, it had been responsible for $15 billion worth of damage.

Klez

Ranking third is Klez. It affected around seven million PCs in 2001 when it was created and cost $20 billion in damages. Like others mentioned above, it also spreads from one computer to the other via phishing scam.

It works by sending out fake emails that look quite legitimate and whoever opens them gets infected with it. It then spreads throughout the network of the victim. The worst part of the story is that it has been rereleased many times and every time, it has caused more damage than the last one.

Conficker

Conficker, also called Downadup, is another dangerous computer virus that was created in 2008 and has infected millions of systems ever since. Like Klez, it has also been rereleased many times. Conficker C, its latest version, spreads via peer-to-peer networking.

After infecting your device, it allows the hacker to remotely control it by adding it to a botnet. Apart from that, with its recent version, it's also using 'scareware' to spread itself. It sends out fake alerts and lures people into downloading an antivirus program which is a malware in reality.

How to Recognize a Computer Virus?

Last but not least, let's talk about how you can recognize a computer virus. It is only then you can take the right measures to eliminate it. Make no mistake; a lot of people fail to catch the virus initially and it leaves them with irreversible system damage. If you act fast in such situations, you can help your device heal and save yourself a lot of trouble.

Here are a few symptoms of an infected device:
-It is slow and takes a while to open a file or tab;
-It restarts or shuts down on its own while you're in the middle of a task;
-The web browser lags a lot and or it keeps redirecting you to other web pages;
-Suspicious emails sent from your account that you don't remember sending;
-The device keeps getting overheated even when you're not doing much;
-New applications appearing on your desktop that you don't remember downloading;
-Frequent unexpected pop-up windows;
-Frequent error messages; and,
-Missing files or files moving around from one folder to another on their own.

All these symptoms imply that your device is sick and probably infected by a virus. If you come across any such thing, we suggest you act fast and save your device from irreversible damage. After all, setting up a new system from square one isn't a piece of pie.