Time to Call the Doctor "爱你"爱到毒死你！

In today's world, we rely on computers as never before. They are used for everything from ordering a pizza to running hospitals and military defense systems. Banking and credit card information is stored and accessed by computers. So what happens when a computer gets infected with a virus? One effect is that people's access to their e-mail accounts is cut off. A more serious possible consequence is that billions of dollars could be lost.

A virus is a computer program that copies itself onto other programs and infects them. Similar to an easily spread disease, a computer virus goes from computer to computer, either adding to or changing the tasks a program is designed to do.

The first computer viruses were created in the mid '80s and had varying effects. Some caused files to be deleted, or made the letters on the screen appear to fall off. Others displayed a specific message once the computer was turned on.

Viruses today are much more widespread and dangerous than ever before. Perhaps the most damaging to date has been the "I Love You" virus. "I Love You" appeared in May 2000 and has possibly been the most destructive virus in terms of monetary loss.

The virus is released when an attachment to a fake e-mail message is opened. By changing the names of files on computers, "I Love You" makes them difficult to access. It also searches for important personal information, including passwords, which it sends to a Web site for others to see.

It is estimated that more than 45 million people in 20 countries have had their computers infected by the "I Love You" virus. Some say the cost of repair and lost business has been more than US$10 billion.

If you own a computer, it is important to keep it in good health by installing an anti-virus program. If updated frequently, it will protect your e-mail access—not to mention your wallet.

在当今世界，我们前所未有地依赖电脑。从订购比萨饼到管理医院及军事防御系统，计算机的使用范围广及各个层面。银行业务及信用卡的资料都要靠计算机储存和支取。假如计算机染上病毒会怎样呢？一个影响是电子邮件帐户的通路被切断，另一个更严重的后果则是数十亿的美元有可能丢失。

计算机病毒是一种计算机程序，它把自己的程序拷贝到其它程序上，从而传染病毒。和容易蔓延的疾病一样，电脑病毒由一个计算机传到另一个计算机，增加或改变原程序所执行的任务。

计算机病毒首先在80年代中期被创造出来，造成不同程度的影响。有些使文件被删除，或使屏幕上的字看起来往下掉。其它的则在电脑一开机就显示特定的信息。

今天的计算机病毒比以前蔓延的更广也更危险。到目前为止，最具破坏性的病毒也许就是“我爱你”病毒了。“我爱你”病毒于2000年5月首次出现，就金钱损失而言，它也许是毁坏性最强的病毒。

当假的电子邮件附件被打开时， 病毒就会被释放出来。通过更改计算机中的文件名，“我爱你”病毒使计算机难以读取文件。它也会搜寻密码这类重要的个人数据，将其传送到网站上让其他人看到。

据估计，在20个国家中有4500万人受到影响。他们的计算机遭到“我爱你”病毒的感染。有人说修理费及商业损失金额就已超过了一百亿美元。

如果你有一台计算机，给它安装防毒程序，使其保持健康是很重要的。如果时常对防毒软件进行升级，它将保障你能收取电子邮件，更不用说你的钱包了。