Ping-Pong virus

Virus-ping-pong

Ping-Pong virus is a type of computer virus that was first discovered in the late 1980s. It is also known as the "Bouncing Ball" virus due to the visual effect it creates on infected systems. The virus is notable for its relatively benign nature compared to other more destructive viruses of its time.

Characteristics

The Ping-Pong virus infects the boot sector of floppy disks and the master boot record (MBR) of hard drives. When an infected disk is used to boot a computer, the virus becomes resident in the system's memory. From there, it can infect other disks that are accessed by the system.

One of the most distinctive features of the Ping-Pong virus is the visual effect it produces. When the virus is active, it displays a "bouncing ball" animation on the screen, which is where it gets its nickname. This animation does not cause any harm to the system but serves as an indicator of the virus's presence.

Infection and Spread

The Ping-Pong virus spreads through the use of infected floppy disks. When an infected disk is inserted into a computer, the virus copies itself to the computer's boot sector or MBR. Any subsequent disks used in the infected computer can also become infected, allowing the virus to spread to other systems.

Impact

While the Ping-Pong virus is not destructive, it can be disruptive. The bouncing ball animation can be distracting to users, and the presence of the virus can cause concern about potential data loss or system damage. However, the virus does not delete or corrupt files, and its primary impact is the inconvenience it causes.

Detection and Removal

The Ping-Pong virus can be detected by most antivirus software programs. These programs can scan the boot sector and MBR for the presence of the virus and remove it if found. It is also possible to remove the virus manually by using a clean boot disk to overwrite the infected boot sector or MBR.

Related Pages

• Computer virus
• Boot sector
• Master boot record
• Antivirus software
• Floppy disk

See Also

• List of computer viruses
• History of computer viruses