As defined by the Ziff Davis Network, "a computer virus is a piece of software that has been written to surreptitiously enter your computer system and "infect" your files. Some viruses are benign and won't harm your system, while others are destructive and can damage or destroy your data."

Today, names like the I Love You bug or the Melissa Virus are common across the globe. But, there are bound to be more and the next one is sure to be a bit more clever, making it even less recognizable as a virus with a name or icon that will prompt the masses to 'double click'.

Viruses have been a part of the Internet since the beginning, before it was even known as the Internet. They come in three basic forms.

First, a trojan horse is a virus that disguises itself as something like a game or small program. And, as you use the program or play the game, the virus is infecting your computer in the background, without you even noticing.

Second, a basic virus, such as the I Love You bug, simply gets executed and then inserts itself into other programs. It is common for these to show up as executables in e-mail attachments. In this case, they will have the .exe extension and you should be cautious with any of these files.

Third, the worm is a virus that self replicates on networks eventually tying up system resources to the point that the network can no longer function.

To protect yourself from these viruses there are a number of things that we all should be doing.

First of all, if you don't already have it, get virus protection software. McAfee (http://www.mcafee.com), Norton's Anti Virus (http://www.symantec.com) and Dr. Solomon's (http://www.drsolomon.com) are the three big players and I recommend sticking with one of them.

Next, it is extremely important to update this software. This simply involves going to the above site for the software you choose and downloading the latest updates. Generally, these updates are free after you purchase the software the first time. Also, these manufacturers are beginning to make new packages that will prompt you to update or even take care of your updates automatically using your Internet connection.

Third, use the software. Some can be set to scan constantly as you use your computer. Others scan every time you boot your system or you can just scan manually. It is essential to make sure thees scans are getting done to protect your computer.

The last bit of advice I have is to be extremely cautious of e-mail attachments. The recent viruses have been able to spread because people are allowing them to be executed which gives the virus the ability to send itself to everyone in your address book. Usually these have a .exe extension. So, if you see an attachment like this but don't recognize it, delete it immediately.