• McAfee / Network Associates   
  
  Noteably the leader in the anti-virus industry, McAfee's Virus Information Library tells of virus alerts and current threats. This site also has a top 10 virus list. Get the specifics of any known virus out there.
  http://us.mcafee.com/virusInfo/default.asp
  
   Enter a virus or term to search for :
   
• Symantec AntiVirus Center   
  
  Information about viruses and how a specific virus may affect your computer. Also includes latest virus threats and security advisories.
  http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/
  
   Enter a virus or term to search for :
   
• Virus Bulletin   
  
  An International publication on computer virus prevention, recognization, and removal. Virus Bulletin is the technical journal on developments in the field of computer viruses and anti-virus products.
  http://www.virusbtn.com/

• AntiViral Toolkit Pro Virus Encyclopedia
  
  Computer viruses categorized by operating system.
  http://www.avpve.com/
• AntiVirus Resources
  
  Alerts and security, attacks, disinfection and recovery, developers news and reference, research papers, software and more.
  http://www.hitchhikers.net/av.shtml
• ICSA Virus Lab
  
  News, information and alerts regarding viruses.
  http://www.icsa.net/html/communities/antivirus/index.shtml
• MessageLabs
  
  A managed and multi-layered anti-virus service, providing Internet-level managed e-mail security services. Its customers are protected from e-mail borne threats such as viruses, unsolicited and malicious mail, before they reach your network.
  http://www.messagelabs.com/
• Norman Data Defense
  
  A leading company within the computer data security field. With products for virus control, personal firewall, encryption, risk analysis, data recovery, and certified data erasure. Also includes, latest virus warnings ranked by risk.
  http://www.norman.com/
• Sophos Anti-Virus
  
  Software specifically designed to protect networks from viruses. Also includes, latest virus alerts and virus information.
  http://www.sophos.com/
• Trend Micro
  
  Software to protect your web server. Also includes, virus advisories, encyclopedia, and latest virus threats.
  http://www.antivirus.com/
• Yahoo! - Viruses
  
  List of anti-virus sites and resources.
  http://dir.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Security_and_Encryption/Viruses_and_Worms/

    What's the difference bewteen a Virus and a Worm?

• A virus is a computer program that attaches itself to a computer system by incorporating a small portion of data into other programs. Once triggered, usually by some action performed on the part of the computer user such as clicking on a file, the virus lies in wait for a command or certain date to deliver its payload, sometimes harmless and other times devastating. Receiving or downloading files such as "AOL4FREE.exe" or free screen savers are more likely to contain viruses than not. "Trust everyone, but brand your cattle!"

• A worm is a sub-classification of a virus. A worm contains a small computer program that can replicate itself, and like a worm, wiggles its way through a computer system or network until it finds a way onto the Internet. Many worms have shut down corporate america for days at a time. Microsoft, IBM, and other large businesses have had their e-mail systems literally collapse due to the volume of incoming and outgoing e-mail that these worms generate. The computer user is usually no more the wiser that anything is even happening, when in fact once the user connects to the Internet, the worm goes into action e-mailing itself to the user's family, friends, collegues and any other e-mail address it came across on the user's system or network.

• Messenger Spam
  
  Learn how to block those annoying Messenger Service pop-up advertisements. This is a new breed of pop-up spam advertisements. Learn how they work and find a few quick and easy steps to adjust your computer's settings to block these annoying pop-ups forever.
  http://www.re-quest.net/computers/messenger-spam/
• How a "Denial of Service" (DDoS) Attack Works
  
  Learn more about the process that managed to take down such websites as Yahoo!, Amazon.com, e-Bay, Buy.com, and others by using an innocent computer or network without their owners even knowing about it. The army of "zombie" computers (in unison) send certain commands to a targeted website in an attempt to overload its server and ultimately causing a "denial of service" for all subsequent visitors to the website. From Gibson Research.
  http://www.grc.com/dos/drdos.htm
  
  • Free System Check
    
    Run a free check on your computer system to see if it's already a zombie or if it has the vulnerability to become one. From Gibson Research.
    https://grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2
    
• Anna Kournikova Virus
  
  Learn more about the Anna Kournikova worm that does more than play tennis with your computer. Ranked as high risk.
  http://vil.nai.com/vil/content/v_99011.htm
• Bagel Virus
  
  Learn more about the Bagel worm that forages on your address book. Downgraded to a low risk.
  http://vil.nai.com/vil/content/v_129509.htm
• Brown Orifice Virus
  
  A vulnerability in Netscape Navigator was found that can be used to expose the contents of your computer to anyone on the Internet allowing them full access to your computer's files. This vulnerability impacts Windows, Macintosh, and Unix systems. No fix has been released yet but Netscape is actively working to patch the reported problem. A short term fix is to disable Java in your Netscape browser. This can be done in the following way: Select the Preferences item on the Edit menu, click on Advanced, and uncheck "Enable Java." Note: It is not necessary to disable JavaScript.
  http://vil.nai.com/vil/content/v_98767.htm
• Bubbleboy Virus
  
  Learn more about the Bubbleboy worm that marks the beginning of a high-tech computer virus war. Ranked as extreme high risk. From McAfee Online.
  http://vil.nai.com/vil/content/v_10418.htm
• Bugbear Virus
  
  Learn more about the Bugbear worm that attempts to disable your anti-virus software and tries to replicate itself by sending e-mails to your family and friends using addresses found on your computer. Ranked a medium risk. From McAfee Online.
  http://vil.nai.com/vil/content/v_99455.htm
• Explore Virus
  
  Learn more about the Explore Virus which was onced ranked as extreme high risk. From McAfee Online.
  http://vil.nai.com/vil/content/v_10339.htm
• Chernobyl Virus
  
  Learn more about the Chernobyl anniversary virus (also known as the CIH and Network Nuke virus) which is set to strike on Monday, April 26th (the 13th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster). From McAfee Online.
  http://vil.nai.com/vil/content/v_10300.htm
  
  • Free Chernobyl Detect/Fix Program
    
    From the AntiVirus Research Center.
    http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/kill_cih.html
    
• Goner Virus
  
  Learn more about the Goner worm which is ranked as high risk. From McAfee Online.
  http://vil.nai.com/vil/content/v_99272.htm
• Klez Virus
  
  Learn more about the Klez mass mailing worm and how to stop it from replicating itself by e-mailing users in your Windows Address Book. From McAfee Online.
  http://vil.nai.com/vil/content/v_99455.htm
• Lovsan aka Blaster Virus
  
  Learn more about this Internet worm and how it exploits a vunerability in Microsoft Windows to enable itself without having to click on it or requiring any other action on the part of the user. LovSan has been given a "medium on watch" risk rating. From McAfee Online.
  http://vil.nai.com/vil/content/v_100547.htm
• Melissa Virus
  
  Learn more about the Melissa virus, how to protect yourself, and how to detect if she is on your computer system. This virus managed to get its creator a 20 month prison sentence. From McAfee Online.
  http://vil.nai.com/vil/content/v_10385.htm
• Nimda Virus
  
  Learn more about this mass mailing Internet worm. Its main goal is simply to spread over the Internet and Intranet, infecting as many users as possible and creating so much traffic that networks are virtually unusable.
  http://vil.nai.com/vil/content/v_99209.htm
• Pretty Park aka South Park Virus
  
  Learn more about this Internet worm that is making a comeback and is being ranked as a high risk. From McAfee Online.
  http://vil.nai.com/vil/content/v_98500.htm
• Mydoom aka Novarg Virus
  
  Learn more about the Mydoom worm. Its main goal is to infet as many computers as possible and on a given date have those computers launch a Denial of Service attack on a specific website. This worm is ranked as a high risk. From McAfee Online.
  http://vil.nai.com/vil/content/v_100983.htm
• Sasser Virus
  
  Learn more about the Sasser worm. This worm, unlike many others, does NOT spread by e-mail. Rather, this worm works by instructing infected computers to stealthly download and execute the real virus payload. This particular worm requires no action by the user, who becomes infected by virtue of an unsecure computer that most likely lacks a firewall. Its creator, an 18 year old from Germany, has since been arrested. This worm is ranked as a medium risk. From McAfee Online.
  http://vil.nai.com/vil/content/v_125007.htm
• Sobig Virus
  
  Learn more about this Internet worm and its mutations. The latest variant of Sobig has been given a "high risk" rating due to its recent modifications and its quick infection rate. From McAfee Online.
  http://vil.nai.com/vil/content/v_100561.htm
• Zotob Virus
  
  Learn more about the Zotob worm that may allow someone to remotely take control of your computer. From McAfee Online.
  http://vil.nai.com/vil/content/v_135433.htm

    See also, these cross-references:

• How to Block Messenger Spam
  
• Spyware Removal