RIRS.ORG #12
Use Protection!
May 2001
After speaking to a few of our members, I
thought it would be good to review using virus protection on your computer.
Lest you think this article doesn’t concern you, let me assure you that unless
your computer never uses the internet and you never bring home disks from work
or friends, it does.
Computer viruses are called viruses because
they are similar to biological viruses. A computer virus passes from computer
to computer like a biological virus passes from person to person. There are
several main types. The oldest and simplest is the Trojan Horse. It is not
technically a virus but is a program that says it will do one thing but
actually does something else, like erase your hard disk. Easily avoided by not
downloading files from unknown websites, stick to ZDnet and places like AOL.
True viruses are self-replicating. Many of the older ones are bits of code
attached to an otherwise good program. When the program is run, the virus code
also runs and first makes a copy of itself in one or more programs on your
hard disk. These are generally spread through floppy disks used at work and
then at home, or from downloading on the internet.
The most pervasive and enormously
“contagious” viruses come through e-mail. So far, just opening your e-mails
cannot let in a virus. The danger lies in e-mail attachments. Attachments do
not open on their own, you have to double click on them. Do not open an
attachment from someone you don’t know. In fact, don’t even open an attachment
that purports to be from someone you do know if it is an “executable” file.
Executable files include but are not limited to those with the ending com,
exe, bat, vbs. Picture files, ie files ending with jpg, are safe. Microsoft
Word files (ending with doc) from someone you know are safe if your copy of
Word is set to not run “macros” from other people. This is the default
setting, so unless you’ve changed it, you’re OK.
Also, there cases in which people receive
an e-mail warning of a hoax virus. In those cases, there is no “computer
virus,” rather, the harm is caused when you follow the “corrective”
instructions in the e-mail. For example, at Ed’s job, an e-mail was put out
near the end of the business day by someone who is known to staff as
authorized to make public announcements. She is not a computer person, but she
immediately forwarded to everyone on the LAN the instructions that she had
received in one of these hoaxes. She instructed everyone that they should
immediately check if a particular file was in their Windows directory. If it
was, she passed on the warning that it was a “worm” virus, timed to destroy
their hard drives the very next day. She then passed on the instructions from
the hoax e-mail on how to find it, how to delete it, and how to remove it from
the computer forever by then emptying the recycle bin. Ed obediently followed
the instructions. The next day, his employer’s computer support section
announced that it was a hoax, that the file in question is necessary to run
windows properly, and that they needed to restore the file to those computers
where it had been deleted. Bottom line: do not act on or pass on virus
warnings unless you’ve checked its validity at a major virus site like
Norton/Symantec (http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/index.html) or McAfee
(http://www.mcafee.com/ ).
There are many anti-virus programs but only
2 brands widely available: Norton and McAfee. Both are well known and will
protect your computer if used properly. Norton 2001 costs $39.99 while the
McAfee product is $29.99. Each can be bought in local computer stores or
downloaded directly from the company website.
Here’s the single most common problem. Most
people do not update their virus definitions. Unless a virus protection
program is constantly updated, it is useless. Thousands of new viruses are
found each year. Anti-virus programs only work against the viruses in their
definition base. So if you have an older version of these virus protection
programs that has not been recently updated with the newest lists, it’s no
good. Luckily, the newer versions make updating much easier. Each has the
newest updates on their web page, which can be downloaded for free for the
newer software versions. I have used McAfee and more recently Norton, and
found Norton to be much easier to update. Once installed and registered, it
updates automatically in the background while you are on-line, usually every 2
weeks.
Your virus program should load with Windows
and a little icon for it will appear on your task bar in the lower right of
the screen. If you right click on this, one of the choices is to disable the
protection. Do this only when necessary, such as when installing a purchased
program that tells you too. Then, do not go back on-line until you’ve
re-enabled it, generally by re-booting. Double check by right clicking the
icon again, to see if it says “enabled”. Now is also a good time to take a
look at your program settings or configuration. Make certain you have it
enabled for all types of protection: internet, mail, copying and running files
etc.
While most viruses can be eventually
eradicated, the damage they do can be irreparable. Get protection.