Reprinted with Permission
A computer Virus is a piece of code that can replicate itself without your permission, and often without your knowledge.
This is similar to a biological virus in some respects, because they are very contagious, they can be very difficult to get rid of, and you can find yourself completely isolated once you become infected.
- ALL Viruses are written by people to carry out a specific purpose, usually to create havoc and cause damage. Somewhere from 500 to 1,000 new viruses appear each month
- A ¡®Computer Bug¡¯ is an unintentional programming mistake, and this is not the same as a Virus, but there is still a link between them. Many Viruses are written specifically to exploit known bugs, or vulnerabilities. Microsoft Windows, and email applications are the most frequently attacked because almost everyone uses one or both of them.
- Trojan Horses are another kind of file that does not replicate itself, but it can be sent to you as a screen saver or executable, and when you open it, it will run silently in the background on your system. The Trojan can attack third parties, or eavesdrop on you and send out your personal information, depending on what it was designed to do.
ALL Viruses will make use of YOUR resources in one way or another, and they will run at your expense. For example, if you have something urgent to do on your computer, such as make an online payment or purchase, or you have family that need the system to do their homework, the virus can prevent you from using your system when you really need it.
These are some of the ways a Virus can impact YOU :
- slow your system down to a halt
- corrupt your files and do lasting damage to your system
- try to send the virus to everyone you connect to
- infect all of your family and friends if the virus finds their email addresses in your address book, and they will not be too pleased if they find out that the virus came from you
- launch attacks from your home PC to many companies and businesses, and they will be able to identify your system as the source
- you may be paying for an internet service at home and you will have no system to use ¨C your internet service provider will not reimburse you for your own downtime
- some viruses just display a message or picture and are annoying, others can reformat your hard drive and you will lose everything that has not been backed up
Someone will have to pay for the damage to your system that may be caused by the Virus, and the most likely person will be YOU. Even if the person that originally wrote the virus is caught and convicted it is very unlikely that you could ever recover your losses from them.
Keep in mind that after a Virus has infected you, you may still have to pay for Anti-Virus software, as it is the only way you will be able to start using your computer again. There are many web sites that offer FREE virus scanning, however these will remove a virus after you are infected, and by that time the damage will already be done.
One way to put this into perspective is to think to yourself how much it would cost you to replace everything on your computer, and weigh this against the cost of Anti-Virus protection. Maybe you don¡¯t think you have anything worth protecting, but then again if you have archives of family photos, homework and assignments for family members, or just need the availability to look up things on the Internet, then maybe you do.
How Can I Protect My Home System :
There is a lot that you can do to protect yourself and your system from becoming a victim of Virus infection.
<1> Install a good Anti-Virus software on your system, and either update it regularly yourself, or you can set up the automatic update to do the updates for you, so there is nothing for you to remember.
Ensure that your Anti-Virus is ALWAYS running. If you buy a new system the Anti-Virus must be enabled BEFORE you make your first connection to the Internet.
There are many different packages available, and these are the 3 of the most popular. Trend, for example, has been recently selected to protect Hotmail by Microsoft, but all are effective if properly installed *** :
We would recommend that you consider investing in a proper Anti-Virus solution, but if would like to see how they work before you make up your mind which one is best for you, you can scan your home system for FREE at one of these links :
<2> Opening up Email attachments is one of the easiest ways for you become infected with a Virus :
- Take great care with email attachments, especially if the attachment is one of the file types that are known to carry viruses, such as : EXE, COM, PIF, SCR, VBS, SHS, CHM, BAT
- If the email is from an address you do not know, or from a company you have never heard of before, DO NOT OPEN IT
This does not mean that no one can send you anything by email anymore, you just have to be careful :
- If you need to exchange files with someone you know, you will recognize the sender and you will be expecting their attachment
- If you are not sure you can always call or email them back to verify that they are really the sender
<3> Microsoft Office products can execute small programs called ¡®macros¡¯ when they are opened, so if you have to send or receive Word or Excel files from someone over the Internet here is something that may help
- Save Word documents in Rich Text Format - RTF
- Save Excel documents in Comma Separated Value ¨C CSV
RTF and CSV files can not contain macros and are much safer.
Some macro Viruses are able to read your email address book and automatically send out email to everyone it finds. The recipient will open your email because they recognize you as the sender, and then they may also get infected. If you have hundreds of people in your address book the macro will email them all at the same time, and it will bring your system to a halt, and maybe everyone else¡¯s too. |
