A

MICRO-PROJECT REPORT
ON
“Different Types of Virus in Computer Security and Prevention”
In Partial Fulfilment of Diploma in Computer Engineering
(Sixth Semester)
In the Subject of
Network and Information Security [22620]

Submitted By

Vaishnavi Godbole
Arya Borkar
Drushti Kolhe
Mrunali Gulhane
Harshada Kalkar

Submitted To

Maharashtra State Board of Technical Education, Mumbai

(M.S.B.T.E)
Under the Guidance of
Miss. Akanksha Bele
(Lecturer In Computer Engineering)
Department in Computer Engineering
Government Polytechnic, Arvi Dist. Wardha
(2023-2024)
 Government Polytechnic, Arvi
Department of Computer Engineering

Certificate
This is to certify, that students whose name mention below of Sixth
Semester of Diploma in Computer Engineering has satisfactorily completed the
Micro project entitled “Different Types of Virus in Computer Security and
Prevention” in Network and Information Security during academic year 2022-23
as Prescribed in MSBTE curriculum .

Roll No Name of student Enrollment No

43 Vaishnavi Godbole 2101320187

49 Arya Borkar 2101320059

55 Drushti Kolhe 2101320113

56 Mrunali Gulhane 2101320117

57 Harshada Kalkar 2201320118

Miss. Akanksha Bele Dr. M. A. Ali Dr. M. A. Ali

Subject Teacher Head of the Department Principal

Place : Arvi
Date : / / 2024
 Declaration

We under signed hereby declare that the micro project report entitled
“Different Types of Virus in Computer Security and Prevention” We further
declare that contents of this report are properly citied and well acknowledge. This
present report is not submitted to any other examination of this or any other institute
for the award of any diploma.

( Signature )

__________________________

__________________________

__________________________

__________________________

__________________________

Place : Arvi
Date : / / 2024

Government Polytechnic, Arvi

 PART A - MICRO-PROJECT PROPOSAL
“Different Types of Virus in Computer Security and Prevention”

1.0 Brief Introduction

A computer virus is a kind of malicious computer program, which when
executed, replicates itself and inserts its own code. When the replication is done,
this code infects the other files and program present on your system.
These computer viruses are present in various types and each of them can
infect a device in a different manner.
In this article, we shall discuss in detail what is a computer virus and what are
its different types. Also, we will read on to know what is an Anti-virus and how it
can nullify a virus in our computer devices, along with some sample questions from
the competitive exam point of view.
A computer virus is a program which can harm our device and files and infect
them for no further use. When a virus program is executed, it replicates itself by
modifying other computer programs and instead enters its own coding. This code
infects a file or program and if it spreads massively, it may ultimately result in
crashing of the device.
Across the world, Computer viruses are a great issue of concern as they can
cause billions of dollars’ worth harm to the economy each year.

2.0 Aim of the Micro-project

• To secure our sensitive information.
• To improve confidentiality, Integrity, Availability.
• To learn about different types virus in computer security.
• Prevention from viruses.

3.0 Intended Course Outcome

• Identify and describe the different types of viruses and malware
• Protection of Your Computer from Virus
• The appropriate security measures to overcome the identified computer threats
4.0 Literature Review

The terms ―virus‖ and ―malware‖ are often used interchangeably, but
they‘re not the identical thing. While a computer virus could also be a sort of
malware, not all malware are computer viruses. The easiest thanks to differentiate
computer viruses from other styles of malware is to give some thought to viruses in
biological terms. Take the flu virus, as an example. The flu requires some
reasonably interaction between two people—like a hand shake, a kiss, or touching
something an infected person touched. Once the flu virus gets inside a person‘s
system it attaches to healthy human cells, using those cells to form more viral cells.
A malicious program works in much the identical way: A bug requires a number
program. A computer program requires user action to transmit from one system to
a different. A bug attaches bits of its own malicious code to other files or replaces
files outright with copies of itself. It‘s that second virus trait that tends to confuse
people. Viruses can‘t spread without some style of action from a user, like opening
up an infected Word document. Worms, on the opposite hand, are ready to spread
across systems and networks on their own, making them far more prevalent and
dangerous.

5.0 Resources Required

Sr no Name of Specifications Qty Remarks

Resources
required/material
1 Computer/laptop Core i5 -3750 1 ___
3.20 GHz 8
GB 64 - bit
operating
system
2 Software Microsoft 1 ___
word
6.0 Action Plan

Sr. No Details of Activity Planned start Planned finish Team

date date Members

1 To discuss and get the topic of micro All

project.

2 Start planning on topic of micro All

project.

3 Collect information about our topic. All

4 Distribute works with in group All

members.

5 To start with creating with main copy All

of microproject.

6 Collect different information about All

microproject.

7 Initiate different views about micro All

project.

8 Editing process must be done before All

hard copy.

9 Check softcopy properly All

before preparing of hardcopy.

10 To start creating copy All

properly.

11 Checking the information from All

monitor.
12 Check the soft copy. All

13 To present soft copy via G- All

mail.

14 Represented the hardcopy of main All

micro project.
❖ Name of Responsible Team Members :

Roll No Name of student Signature

43 Vaishnavi Godbole

49 Arya Borkar

55 Drushti Kolhe

56 Mrunali Gulhane

57 Harshada Kalkar
 PART B - MICRO-PROJECT REPORT

“Different Types of Virus in Computer Security and Prevention”

❖ Rationale

A computer virus is a kind of malicious computer program, which when

executed, replicates itself and inserts its own code. When the replication is done,
this code infects the other files and program present on your system.
These computer viruses are present in various types and each of them can
infect a device in a different manner.
In this article, we shall discuss in detail what is a computer virus and what are
its different types. Also, we will read on to know what is an Anti-virus and how it
can nullify a virus in our computer devices, along with some sample questions from
the competitive exam point of view.
A computer virus is a program which can harm our device and files and infect
them for no further use. When a virus program is executed, it replicates itself by
modifying other computer programs and instead enters its own coding. This code
infects a file or program and if it spreads massively, it may ultimately result in
crashing of the device.
Across the world, Computer viruses are a great issue of concern as they can
cause billions of dollars’ worth harm to the economy each year.

❖ Course Outcomes Addressed

• Identifying and describing the different types of viruses and malware

• Protection of Your Computer from Virus
• The appropriate security measures to overcome the identified computer threats
 ❖ Literature Review

The terms ―virus‖ and ―malware‖ are often used interchangeably, but
they‘re not the identical thing. While a computer virus could also be a sort of
malware, not all malware are computer viruses. The easiest thanks to differentiate
computer viruses from other styles of malware is to give some thought to viruses in
biological terms. Take the flu virus, as an example.
The flu requires some reasonably interaction between two people—like a
hand shake, a kiss, or touching something an infected person touched. Once the flu
virus gets inside a person‘s system it attaches to healthy human cells, using those
cells to form more viral cells. A malicious program works in much the identical way:
A bug requires a number program.
A computer program requires user action to transmit from one system to a
different. A bug attaches bits of its own malicious code to other files or replaces files
outright with copies of itself. It‘s that second virus trait that tends to confuse people.
Viruses can‘t spread without some style of action from a user, like opening up an
infected Word document. Worms, on the opposite hand, are ready to spread across
systems and networks on their own, making them far more prevalent and dangerous.

❖ Introduction

As we all aware of the word computer virus. What we know is that it is a

virus that affect computer system but we don’t know how it works and how it
affect our computer system sometimes it also effect the hard disk , and also
sometimes it stole the data from our your system and send to others.
The first computer virus, called "Creeper system", was an beginning of
self-replicating virus released in 1971. It‘s working was like it take up the hard
drive until a computer could not operate any further. The first computer virus for
MS-DOS was "Brain" and was liberated in 1986. It would duplicate the boot
sector on the floppy disk and prevent the computer from booting. It was written
by two brothers from Pakistan and was initial designed as a copy protection.
"The Morris" was the first Computer virus which spread broadly in 1988. It
was written by Robert Morris, a graduate student from Cornell University who
needed to determine the size of the internet. His approach used contract holes in
send mail and other UNIX applications as well as weak passwords, but due to a
 programming mistake it spread too fast and started to interfere with the natural
process of the computers. It contaminated around 15,000 computers in 15 hours,
which back then was most of the internet. The Internet worm of November 2,
1988, was one of the oldest computer worms distributed via the Internet, and the
first to gain spotlight. It also resulted in the first breach conviction in the US
under the 1986 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

❖ HISTORY OF VIRUS

1949, John von Neumann and ―self-replicating machines‖ It was in those

silver age of computing that mathematician, engineer, and polymath John von
Neumann delivered a lecture on the Theory and Organization of Complicated
Automata in which he first argued that computer programs could ―self-
reproduce. 1982, the protocomputer-virus. In 1982 a fifteen-year-old boy was
playing with his friends proved Neumann‘s theory a reality. Rich Skrenta‘s Elk
Cloner is broadly regarded as the first proto-computer virus. Elk Cloner targeted
Apple II computers, causing doctored machines to display a poem from Skrenta:
Elk Cloner: It will get on all your disks. It will infiltrate your chips Yes, it‘s
Cloner! It will stick to you like glue. It will convert RAM too Send in the Cloner!
Other notable firsts—Elk Cloner was the first virus to spread via severable
storage media (it wrote itself to any floppy disk inserted into the computer). For
many years to come, that‘s how viruses travelled across systems—via
contaminated floppy disk passed from user to user.
We have heard many terms such as virus, malware, Trojan, worm,
ransomware, rootkit, software bug and now let‘s see what are these and how they
are different from computer virus Malware and Virus are mostly considered to be
the same thing and people generally tend to interchange their meaning. Thus, it is
important for one to know the discrepancy between malware and virus as these
two terms are technically different from each other. Malware could be a form of
malicious software which intends to infect the host computer. Whereas, Virus
could be a sort of malware itself. It infects files so spreads through a tool
whenever the file or program is run.
Malware and virus aren‘t the identical things. It‘s designed to induce
unauthorized access to a system, generally for a 3rd party benefit. On the opposite
hand, a virulent disease may be a code which attaches itself to numerous files and
programs which get infected in a very manner that they will disrupt and corrupt a
tool.
❖ How to identify computer viruses

Since the computer virus only hits the programming of the device, it is not
visible. But there are certain indications which can help you analyse that a device
is virus-hit. Given below are such signs which may help you identify computer
viruses:

• Speed of the System – In case a virus is completely executed into your device,
the time taken to open applications may become longer and the entire system
processing may start working slowly
• Pop-up Windows – One may start getting too many pop up windows on their
screen which may be virus affected and harm the device even more
• Self Execution of Programs – Files or applications may start opening in the
background of the system by themselves and you may not even know about
them.
• Log out from Accounts – In case of a virus attack, the probability of accounts
getting hacked increase and password protected sites may also get hacked and
you might get logged out from all of them
• Crashing of the Device – In most cases, if the virus spreads in maximum files
and programs, there are chances that the entire device may crash and stop
working.

The first thing which you might notice in case of virus attack is the speed with
which your system shall process. And then gradually other changes can also be
observed.
❖ Types of Computer Virus

Discussed below are the different types of computer viruses:

• Boot Sector Virus – It is a type of virus that infects the boot sector of floppy
disks or the Master Boot Record (MBR) of hard disks. The Boot sector
comprises all the files which are required to start the Operating system of the
computer. The virus either overwrites the existing program or copies itself to
another part of the disk.
• Direct Action Virus – When a virus attaches itself directly to a .exe or .com file
and enters the device while its execution is called a Direct Action Virus. If it
gets installed in the memory, it keeps itself hidden. It is also known as Non-
Resident Virus.
• Resident Virus – A virus which saves itself in the memory of the computer and
then infects other files and programs when its originating program is no longer
working. This virus can easily infect other files because it is hidden in the
memory and is hard to be removed from the system.
• Multipartite Virus – A virus which can attack both, the boot sector and the
executable files of an already infected computer is called a multipartite virus. If
a multipartite virus attacks your system, you are at risk of cyber threat.
• Overwrite Virus – One of the most harmful viruses, the overwrite virus can
completely remove the existing program and replace it with the malicious code
by overwriting it. Gradually it can completely replace the host’s programming
code with the harmful code.
• Polymorphic Virus – Spread through spam and infected websites, the
polymorphic virus are file infectors which are complex and are tough to detect.
They create a modified or morphed version of the existing program and infect
the system and retain the original code.
• File Infector Virus – As the name suggests, it first infects a single file and then
later spreads itself to other executable files and programs. The main source of
this virus are games and word processors.
• Spacefiller Virus – It is a rare type of virus which fills in the empty spaces of a
file with viruses. It is known as cavity virus. It will neither affect the size of the
file nor can be detected easily.
• Macro Virus – A virus written in the same macro language as used in the
software program and infects the computer if a word processor file is opened.
Mainly the source of such viruses is via emails.

❖ How to Avoid and Lessen the Impact of Viruses

Now that you know about the different types of computer viruses, here are a
few tips on how to avoid letting them in.

• Use a firewall
A firewall is your computer’s first line of defense. While an antivirus program
(more on that later) is active in your computer, detecting and neutralizing
viruses, a firewall sits between your computer and the internet, swatting them
away. Your computer normally comes with a pre-installed firewall – make sure
it’s enabled.

• Don’t click on suspicious links or pop-ups

The first one should be the most obvious. But so many people get suckered into
clicking on dubious links on the internet. Ok, so we’ve all been tempted to click
on a ‘12 Hollywood Actors Who Have Really Let Themselves Go’ link –
especially when number 9 will “literally make your jaw drop.” Sometimes we all
have to learn the hard way. But the golden rule is, if you don’t know or trust the
website, proceed with caution. And always use a pop-up blocker.
• Don’t open email attachments or links you aren’t sure about
Emails are one of the main ways computer viruses spread. When a computer is
infected, viruses ‘blast email’ all the contacts on that computer. So, if an
attachment seems a bit suspicious - if it’s got a strange file name, there are typos
in the email, the content of the email seems odd or the sender’s email address
looks strange, for instance - don’t open it. Even if it’s from someone you know.

• Backup your files

Just imagine losing your most valued documents, photos, videos, etc. Almost
unthinkable, right? That’s why, in the event that a virus gets through, it makes
sense to have your data backed up. Make a copy of everything and store it on an
external hard drive, as well as another computer, if possible.

• Update your operating system

You know those annoying little update messages that pop up at the most
inconvenient time? Well, it’s time to stop ignoring them. Whether you’re on a
Mac or a PC, it’s crucial to keep your operating system up to date. Developers
are constantly adding new improvements, many of which will help keep your
computer free from viruses

❖ How to Detect Viruses

If you suspect you might have a computer virus, here’s how you can detect it.

• Install a reliable antivirus program

A surprisingly large number of people don’t use antivirus programs. Whether
it’s McAfee, Norton, Kaspersky, Bitdefender, or another top program, having a
quality antivirus program is your computer’s second line of defense against
viruses. It’s also a prerequisite for virus detection.

• Run regular scheduled scans with your antivirus program

Having the program is all well and good. But it means nothing if you don’t run
virus scans. Ideally, you should run a scan once a week, every two weeks or
whenever you think your computer might have caught a virus. You can set
antivirus programs to scan automatically when it suits you – for instance, a
specific time of day when you know you won’t be using your computer. Once a
virus is identified, your antivirus program can also often help you remove it.
❖ What is an Anti-Virus?

Antivirus software is a usually available and extensively used program or set

of programs that are outlined to restrict, search for, detect, and remove software
viruses, and other malicious software like worms, Trojans, adware, and more.

Why Do We Need Antivirus Software?

• These tools are crucial for users to have loaded and up-to-date because a
computer in the absence of antivirus software protection will be infected within
minutes of connecting to the internet.
• The bombardment is constant, which implies antivirus companies have to update
their detection tools periodically to tackle the more than 60,000 new pieces of
malware created every day.
• Today’s malware (an umbrella term that encapsulates computer viruses) alters
appearance suddenly to prevent detection by older definition-based antivirus
programs. Viruses can be designed to cause damage to the device, prohibit a
user from accessing data, or take control of the computer.
 What Does Antivirus Software Do?

Various companies create antivirus software and what every one of them offers
can be different but all perform the following essential functions:
1. Scan particular files or directories for any malware or predetermined malicious
patterns.
2. Allow users to plan scans to automatically run for the user.
3. Allow users to conduct a scan of a selected file or the entire computer, or of a
CD or flash drive at any time.
4. Quarantine any malicious piece of program detected, sometimes the user will be
notified of such infection and asked if he/she wants to dump the file, other
programs will automatically do this in the background.
5. Reminds about the ‘health’ of the computer.
6. Always be sure the user has the best, up-to-date security software installed to
protect his/her devices like computers, laptops, tablets, and smartphones.
How Does Antivirus Software Work?

Most of the antivirus software programs still download malware definitions

straight to the user’s device and scan the files in search of any possible matches.
But since, as it’s mentioned above, most malware periodically morphs in
appearance to avoid being caught, Webroot works differently. Rather than
storing examples of recognized malware on the device, it saves malware
definitions in cloud storage. This enables us to acquire less space, scan quicker,
and manage a more robust threat library. Some of the examples of antivirus are
Norton(for Android and Windows), McAfee( iOS and Mac), Vipre, Avast, and
Kaspersky.
❖ Actual Methodology Followed

• Understand the topic to given us.

• Discuss about the topic with group members.
• Divided the topic throughout each member of group.
• Collected information from members and verify from our mentor.

❖ Actual Resources Required

Sr no Name of Resources Specifications Qty Remarks

required/material
1 Computer/laptop Core i5 -3750 1 ___
3.20 GHz 8 GB
64 - bit operating
system
2 Software Microsoft word 1 ___

❖ C o nclusio n

Computer viruses have been around for over fifteen years. Over 40,000
different viruses have been cataloged so far. In recent years, the number viruses
have increased dramatically. The damages they cause are estimated to be several
billions of U.S. dollars per year. Most often, the origin of the virus is difficult to
trace. Various kinds of anti-virus software have been developed which detect
viruses and take corrective actions. The anti-virus software needs to be
continually updated to cope with newer types of viruses. The proliferation of the
Internet and Web, have enabled viruses to spread quickly on a massive scale, by
taking advantage of several security loopholes. The continual challenge is to
have quick and effective responses to these virus attacks.
❖ References

▪ https://byjus.com/govt-exams/computer-virus/

▪ https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/types-of-virus/

▪ https://buddycompany.com/post/types-of-computer-virus

▪ https://documents.uow.edu.au/

▪ https://www.jetir.org/papers/

▪ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/3227533_Computer_viruses