Page 131 - Biomimetics: Technology Imitates Nature

Harun Yahya

Pursuing this analogy between the computer and living things, re-
searchers have begun producing protective programs that function like
our own immune systems. They believe what we have learnt from epi-
demiology (the branch of science which studies contagious diseases) and
immunology (which deals with the immune system) will be able to pro-
tect electronic programs from new threats in the same way that antibod-
ies protect living organisms.
Computer viruses are clever self-replicating programs designed to
infiltrate computers, multiply by copying themselves and damage or “hi-
jack” the computers they enter. Indications that such viruses are present
include a slowing down of the computer system, occasional mysterious
damage to files, and sometimes, complete failure or “crashing” of the
computer itself—much as with the various diseases that affect human be-
ings.

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