It then encrypted the data, logged on to the Net, and e-mailed findings to someone in China. No one has discovered who received the information or what they did with it. Worse, Picture.exe's program also created another file that has yet to reveal its purpose. Although software is now available to detect Picture.exe, it is just one of many such programs stalking the Net. Once activated, the codes may do malicious damage to hardware and software, steal information or, like Poppy, simply play a prank.
Users then click OK and it goes away.
Other viruses may do nothing at all, sitting silently and waiting for a chance to pass to another machine or software. Even the most computer-savvy individual isn't immune. The virus had infiltrated the accounting home office. After being infected, Howard's programs wouldn't work, and her computer would shut down when she attempted to install anything. At first, she blamed a program she had recently installed that allowed her to clear out a clogged hard drive.