Virus, Viral, Virulent

Along with the viral infections, and viral messages and viral information are also the realities of digital world as the internet spreads far and wide, deeper and further in to the society unless one is disconnected.

Viral is an adjective: something caused by a virus, relating to virus. Virus is a very small living thing; smaller than the wavelength of light, and can only be seen under an electron microscope, and they are colourless. Like bacteria, some viruses are harmless and some are harmful (virulent).

In order to understand about viruses better, researchers at the University of Manchester have developed an optical microscope(microsphere nanoscope) that magnifies small objects using ordinary white light.

Virus can enter the human body and can make the person ill. The common infections caused by the viruses through skin, respiration, oral, sexual, through vectors and animal bites are cold, flu, warts, HIV/AIDS, smallpox, haemorrhafic fevers, dengue, rabies, rubella, polio among others. There are anti-viral drugs such as Ribavarin against Hepatitis C (like there are antibiotics). But viruses are fast adapters and modify themselves and resist against the drugs!

Viruses have the extraordinary power to enter into a living cell of a person, and nest there by multiplying themselves. Virulent is an adjective meaning something that is very dangerous, and affects people very fast, quickly.

Virulent feelings are those that are extremely strong (being obsessive of somebody) and angry (attacking someone physically or verbally). The derivatives of virulent are virulently (adverb) and virulence (noun).

In 21st century, viruses are not only affecting their physical bodies, but also their computers/laptops/desktops. Viral functions as a noun and adjective, and is derived from the stem of the word ‘virus’ with the addition of –al but with the deletion of -us. As an adjective, viral means related to virus: people often suffer with colds due to viral infections.

As a noun, viral means a video, an image, a text on the internet; a computing, virus is a program that enters a computer and damages some information, destroys information or stored data.

Who creates (computer) viruses or malware, and why? People commit crime or acts of vandalism for a reason: satiating their egos (proving a point, fame, to test creativity that could lead to destruction) and that extends to computers, cyber-world or cybersphere!

They aim at their online targets (directing the user to an advertisement), to steal data, to damage and derive some benefit and others. Like viruses, viral programes are self-replicating meaning. When something goes viral, it means, it spreads fast, and furiously: online and offline.