Computer viruses: from theory to applications

Abstract

Computer viruses have been around since the mid 1980s. Over 40,000different viruses have been cataloged so far and the number of virusesis increasing dramatically. The damage they cause is estimated to beseveral billions of U.S. dollars per year. Most often, the origin of thevirus is difficult to trace. Various kinds of anti-virus software havebeen developed which detect viruses and take corrective actions. Theanti-virus software needs to be continually updated to cope with newertypes of viruses. The proliferation of the Internet and Web, haveenabled viruses to spread quickly on a massive scale, by takingadvantage of several security loopholes. The continual challenge is tohave quick and effective responses to these virus attacks