Just thought I'd put this long pondered thought out on the examination table for the tech experts for some insight.
As a kid in high school we've all heard of the viruses that will make your computer catch on fire or cause a component to explode or some kind of expression of utter disaster.
So what is the reality of physical damage caused by software(viruses)?
I know that hard disks come with low level formatting on them. Is it possible for a virus to reformat this low level format or possible for a virus to permanently edit the BIOS?
How about a permanent spot on the previous installation of Windows that isn't overwritten?
Or those viruses that can hijack your motherboard causing components to burn out?
I've always been interested in viruses and how they work and studying the black hat master minds though never get the chance due to a full schedule of regular computer work and regular friendly programming.
Figured I'd start a discussion about it in hopes to gain a little knowledge in something I don't ever find time to study myself.
So does anyone have any thoughts?