When a malicious program enters our computer, the first thing that comes to mind is our data, either because it can be stolen or deleted. However, the problem between viruses and hardware is much deeper than that, as many of them can negatively affect our hardware and even cause it to stop working. we explain the dangers of viruses for the hardware.
We all know someone whose computer is a disaster, especially because of the amount of spam installed on their computer, which is often nothing more than spyware that keeps consuming resources hardware, and not only that, often they make the PC work in unusual conditions, which forces them to overwork themselves in things that should not be. That is, seeing that the CPU, graphics card, and memory are at the level of running a state-of-the-art game or rendering a video when we’re just editing a spreadsheet in Excel .
What are the dangers of a virus for my PC hardware?
The first and clearest is that they pose a danger to the information stored on your PC, either because they can steal it, or because they can monitor you, or because you can simply see how many Important documents or system files are missing. The biggest problem is that the mentality of those who make this type of program is that they are psychopaths who like to sabotage third parties. That is whye 99% of these programs have poorly optimized codeon purpose, so that our PC forces the machinery upwards.
The problem is compounded when we have hardware-dedicated viruses, these won’t suddenly blow up the PC, but they can do things like:
- Create a large number of processes without rhyme or reason to saturate the memory controller and the processor cores, which collapse under the enormous amount of work to be done completely superfluously. For this, they usually use a process that continuously generates more equal processes.
- Many malware are JavaScript browser extensions that take advantage of the container for Chrome, Edge, or other apps to run multiple apps at the same time, even if we’re only looking at one.
- Is the internet slow for you? This is due to the large number of packet requests they send to your motherboard’s network controller. Which makes it saturated with their processing, often sending your information to a third party you don’t know who will use it for their benefit.
All thanks to the use of malicious algorithms, not only because they continuously replicate themselves, but also because they use algorithms designed to consume as many resources as possible. Many of them not only want data, but are methods of boycotting production.
Why can they downgrade hardware?
Despite the fact that processors today can be placed at high power consumption, the vast majority of systems used are laptops and PCs with processors with a TDP that does not exceed 65 W. Because tasks that do not require more power and in many cases more than 50% of a processor’s raw power is wasted. All you need to do is go to Task Manager and check the CPU usage under normal virus-free conditions.
If a processor has a low workload, it will not go full speed to perform its tasks, but will slow down in order to save power, transmit less heat, and have a longer lifespan. If you’re using a laptop, you can imagine what affects battery life, the fact that the CPU is forced to the maximum. As for desktop computers, the dangers may seem minor, but they are not, especially in offices, where due to space concerns, many companies have adopted MiniPCs with fairly basic cooling.
