Do you know what a computer virus is? If not, does this cause you fear or hesitation in your day today use of a computer? Or are you more afraid of the technical explanation you would get if you were bold enough to ask? If you read this essay I will attempt to in such a way if you know nothing about computer, you feel more confident just for having read it. Of course the …showed first 75 words of 785 total…

…showed last 75 words of 785 total…run macros, another word for a prescribed sequence of actions. Spreadsheets, for example, have macros that let them conduct calculations, while word-processing programs have macros that let them check spelling and finish words. Macro viruses can easily spread because they infect files, not programs. People readily exchange files in the course of a day's work. To make it worse, macro viruses are platform-independent and so can easily spread between Microsoft, Macintosh and other operating systems.