Viruses   

Computer viruses can cause minor inconveniences - or disasters which completely disable or kill your computer!  There is a huge amount of information available about virus protection, and the real problem is that viruses change every day - so keeping up to date is a challenge.   I will try to provide a basic primer and also sources for you to continue your virus education so that you can keep your technology safe.

Stiller Research provides detailed but very readable info about viruses and other destructive computer software.    The explanation below comes directly from his web page at http://www.stiller.com/vintro.htm . 

"A virus is a program which reproduces its own code by attaching itself to other programs in such a way that the virus code is executed when the infected program is executed.  The virus must do this without the permission or knowledge of the user."

"Viruses are potentially destructive software that spreads from program to program or from disk to disk. Computer viruses, like biological viruses, need a host to infect; in the case of computer viruses this host is an innocent program. If such a program is transferred to your PC, other programs on your PC will become infected. Even though some viruses do not intentionally damage your data, I consider all viruses to be malicious software since they modify your programs without your permission with occasional disastrous results.

The bottom line is that if you have a virus, you are no longer in control of your PC. Every time you boot your PC or execute a program the virus may also be executing and spreading its infection. While most viruses haven't been written to be destructive, almost all viruses can cause damage to your files--mostly because the viruses themselves are very poorly written programs. If viruses destroy nothing else, they destroy your trust in your PC--something that is quite valuable."

If you want to print out a copy of the guidelines below, click HERE for a printable copy.

Here are some guidelines to help you avoid virus infection of your computer:

1.  You can get viruses from executable files or infected diskettes, but not from just being on the Internet or an online service.

2.  You should remove any diskette from your A drive as soon as you're finished with the disk.  On most computers, you can also disable floppy disk booting, to prevent infection from a disk left accidentally in a disk drive.

3.  If you download any Microsoft Office files (including Word or Excel), don't open them with the application but with a viewer program (because they can contain executable macro  files that can be opened when they're opened).

4.  Make sure to create backups for your files - two is best.

5.  Check all new software for viruses before installing it on your computer.  Even new software from publishers can be infected with viruses.

6.  If you download anything, download it to a disk NOT directly onto your computer.

7.  Never double-click on an attachment that contains an executable files that arrives as an e-mail attachment.  Executable files have extensions like EXE, COM or VBS.

8.  You should have active, updated virus scanning on your computer.  Some savvy computer users insist on having two or three programs running, to try to catch as many viruses as possible.  Remember, viruses are constantly being altered, so updated scanning is essential.  A few of the more popular programs are:

  You can purchase software and also an online scanning program, as well as check out current virus news.  http://mcafee.com

    Symantec offers many virus protection packages, including the popular Norton Anti-Virus.  They have an updating feature called Live update, to incorporate new virus definitions.  You can also check out the latest virus threats.  http://www.sarc.com/

    Trend Micro provides different protection devices, including an online scan called Housecall.  http://housecall.antivirus.com/

When you receive those e-mails warning of viruses - BEWARE!  They are often the virus, and by sending it on to warn your friends as requested, you are spreading the virus!  What you should do is check one of the sites below to see if there is a virus warning, or if you have been the victim of a hoax.  You can type in (or copy and paste) the name of the virus and search a database of known viruses and hoaxes.  Remember - any virus warning could be genuine - just check it out before sending it on!  Don't just ignore those warnings - they might save your computer!

 CERT Coordination Center - http://www.cert.org

Symantec AntiVirus Research Center - http://www.sarc.com

McAfee Virus Information Library - http://vil.mcafee.com

To check out HOAXES, go directly to:

Symantec Hoax      or   McAfee Hoax

To help educate your friends about hoaxes, send them a letter about the dangers of spreading those virus warnings.  Click below for a letter you can copy to use if you want!

I hope you've found the above information about viruses helpful.  Now - stay safe out there on the Information Highway! 

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