It would be difficult to describe the impact of viruses — and their cousins Trojan horses and worms — without resorting to clichés or sensationalism. But after all the hoopla, the bottom line is pretty simple: Malicious people write viruses, and viruses do bad things to our computers. Over the past two decades, viruses have caused billions of dollars in damage and lost productivity — and that’s just the impact on businesses. Viruses hit home computer users much harder because home users usually don’t have information-technology support departments to install and maintain antivirus software and repair damaged computers
