ERIC
SPELLMANN
Those nasty viruses, part 2
Welcome back to Viruses 101. Last week we discussed four of the five types
of viruses: the file infector, stealth virus, trojan horse, and worms.
However, the most insidious virus in the wild today is the polymorphic virus. As
a preface, we need to talk about how anti-virus software works. Viruses
are simply computer programs and programs are simply "sets of instruction". When
a virus replicates or copies itself, it is simply copying its "set of instructions" somewhere
else.
Anti-virus software can search all of your programs for copies of these instructions. If
it finds them, it can remove them. Of course, in order for your anti-virus
software to work, it must KNOW about the virus to begin with. Obviously,
newer viruses that your software doesn’t know about will evade the search.
Polymorphic viruses are particularly sneaky because every time they copy themselves,
they can actually CHANGE their instructions, making them impervious to virus
searches. Don’t get me wrong, they can be found (sort of). Whenever
a virus infects another program, what happens to the SIZE of the program? It
grows! Your programs should never just "grow" on their own. Your
data may grow and shrink, but programs are static in their size, unless you upgrade
them.
Good anti-virus software, when first installed, will make a list of all of your
programs and their sizes. Whenever you run your anti-virus software from
then on, it will compare your programs to that list. If any of them have "suddenly
grown", the software will alert you and ask if you have recently upgraded
them. If not, the anti-virus software will erase the infected program (taking
the virus with it). At this point, you will have to re-install the original
program. But, hey, it’s better to lose one program than an entire
hard disk!
So, which anti-virus software is best? While I don’t have a favourite,
two stand out as top choices: McAfee and Norton. Each
can search for the five virus types I’ve mentioned. Buying and using
one of these products is not enough, though. Every day, new viruses are
discovered. You MUST keep your anti-virus program updated with the newest
virus lists. The two programs I mentioned can do this quite simply through
easy internet updates. Each website has more information and trial versions
to download.
If money is an issue, check out Avast Home Edition. It
seems to work just as well, but doesn’t cost you a penny. (Editor's note:
I'd also recommend AVG Anti-Virus at www.grisoft.com -
very effective, and again it's free with regular updates).
Most of today’s viruses are built on the foundation of an older virus named Happy99. While
you won’t see this little bug much anymore, it is still the template for
most of today’s nasty viruses. This bizarre little virus doesn’t
do any real damage to your system. However, it can be annoying. Here’s
how it works:
One day you receive an e-mail message from a friend. At the bottom of the
message you notice a little attachment called, "happy99.exe" You
think to yourself, "Hmmm, must be one of those animated greeting cards!" So,
you double-click on it. And sure enough, you see a pretty little display
of fireworks with the message, "Happy 1999!"
What you don’t notice, however, is that the program has just infected your
e-mail program. Now, every time you SEND a piece of e-mail, the virus automatically
attaches itself to the message. You are now unwittingly sending the virus
to all of your friends! And if they double-click on it, guess what? They’re
infected!
I received this virus 20 times in the first few weeks. Each time, I replied
back to the sender informing them of the infection. Please note, that I
have never been infected with the virus. Receiving it does not automatically
mean your system is infected. Only if you double-click on it do you infect
your system.
So, what should you do if you receive a Happy99-like virus from a friend? Reply
to the message, explaining that their system is infected, and then delete the
message.
The Happy99 virus issue does bring up a good point, though. Quite a few
hoaxes are going around the internet these days. Many of them revolve around
viruses. For instance, if you’ve been on the internet for very long,
no doubt, you’ve received a message claiming to be from someone at Microsoft
or IBM. The message warns you not to open a message with the words, "Join
the Crew" in the subject. If you do, the message warns, your hard drive
will be erased! Hoax!
Variations of this message have made it around the Net. Some of the popular
ones warn of the following subjects: "Budweiser Frogs," "Naughty
Robot," "Good Times", "Win a Vacation," and "Stand
up for Jesus!" If a well-meaning friend sends you one of these jokes,
please tell them it is a hoax. (Editor's note: check out the most common virus
hoaxes at www.vmyths.com - and never pass on virus warnings without checking
first: 99% of them are hoaxes!)
Computer viruses are not something to fear. Despite how I may have described
them, THEY ARE NOT ALIVE! Viruses are simply programs, created by losers
with too much time on their hands.
I’ll
see you in Cyberspace!
www.EricSpellmann.com
©
Christian Family Network
is run by CPO, supported by
Care for the Family, Marriage Resource, Positive Parenting,
Care, Women Alive, Christian Herald and many others.