What is a Computer Virus & What do I 'NEED'
to know?
When a virus attacks, it does so unannounced. Swiftly and unexpectedly.
By the time it dawns on us that something is not quite right, the
infection has settled deep within our systems and is doing us unknown
harm. At first, the case is difficult to identify, because the symptoms
can be many and varied, and they can also masquerade as other problems.
Yet, each unmistakable warning sign is an indication that something
foreign has infiltrated. Over the course of several days - or even
minutes! - functions stop running smoothly, and, without reason,
our systems become unreliable. Behavior grows sluggish and prone
to shutting down. The performance we've come to depend upon day-to-day
begins to inevitably weaken, until we find ourselves helpless in
the grip of an infection, unable to manage even the simplest of tasks...
No, this is NOT a biological crisis! But for all its crippling consequences,
it might as well be -- especially for those of us who are attached
to our PCs and rely on them every day. Trends Indicate That the Spread
is On Computer viruses are now more prevalent than ever, and the
trend only points to further spreading. As internet virus trackers
have reported, the number of viruses is up almost 60% year-over-year.
And small businesses -- arguably the sector most vulnerable to attack
(since these companies don't usually think about protecting themselves
the way larger enterprises do) -- are beginning to get the message.
They are now fighting back in earnest. In fact, recent studies show
that approximately three-quarters of small and medium businesses
are planning significant investments in new security products over
the next year. This projection is indicative of the fear and respect
the public has gained for computer viruses. These online assaults
are no longer the occasional nightmare once recounted among other
water cooler myths and exaggerations. These very real threats represent
an international onslaught of online offenses whose indiscriminate
destruction has demanded the enlistment of virtually every major
law enforcement agency on the planet.
The question is:
How well do you know the enemy?
Can you recognize an attack?
If you suspect your PC might be infected, ask yourself these simple
questions: Is my computer acting weird? Are normal functions suddenly
dragging? Do I have trouble opening up Windows or other applications?
Is my PC freezing and crashing more frequently? Why can't I get my
printer to work? How is it that I can't seem to get (or stay) online?
Why are my friends complaining about receiving bogus emails from
me?
Just like any other viral threat, prevention is preferred over treatment
-- and it's usually much more effective.
A Virus By Any Other Name...
They are called viruses for good reason, for their actions eerily
emulate their biological namesakes.
For instance, many travel swiftly, wildly and freely, across open
and commonly used spaces, and they infiltrate through various forms
of direct and indirect contact. Sounds a lot like the Internet, doesn't
it? -- where diverse contact is made via emails, downloads, file
sharing and more. Likewise, the most damaging kinds of viruses are
often the most highly contagious, and they carry the power to spread
themselves in order to pass their harmful contagions along, i.e.,
to survive. A 'Virus' in layperson's terms: It's a form of malicious
software - also referred to as malware - that reaches your computer
(most times) uninvited.
The forms of malware that antivirus solutions protect against include:
Viruses, worms, Trojans and Zombies. Most viruses today are typically
spread via email, but can also be spread by sharing diskettes, network
drives, or Internet downloads. But viruses cannot spread on their
own and must be run (or executed) by someone to cause damage. Some
viruses are benign and can be playful in intent and effect, but some
can be quite harmful, erasing data or frying your entire hard disk.
The essential phrase to key-in on above is "must be run." You
see, a virus is software, and, like any other software program, it
cannot affect your PC, or do harm, unless its code is executed and
the program actually runs. This is important to know, because it
gets to the heart of how security software, (your anti-virus program)
operates. Like a sentry standing guard at all entrances, anti-virus
programs inspect all media that enter a system, searching for signs
of possible infection, and when they come across any potentially
infected files, they refuse to copy them into memory or storage.
This is called scanning, and it's a vital function, because any files
that are denied access to PC memory cannot run, cannot execute and
cannot unleash their potentially damaging payload.
At the Sign of a Threat...
Now, your next logical question should be: How does the software
know what to screen for? Simple. Each new virus that is unleashed "in
the wild" bears an individual signature, a fingerprint, if
you will, that identifies that virus as a threat to PC users. The
most effective antivirus software provider lies in The amount of
virus signatures
The software can accurately identify, and how frequently the provider's
software updates The subscriber's PC to recognize and repel new viruses.
These updates are called virus signature file updates, your antivirus
program when set to 'auto-update' will send them out to its users
(when online). Why? Because the more virus signatures the software
is able to identify, and the more frequently that information is
downloaded to users, the better the user's protection will be, and
the safer that user remains when online. As malicious programmers
work feverishly throughout the world, on any given day and from any
given hideout, to unleash the latest and most sophisticated computer
viruses, your anti-virus program is working hard to identify these
brand new virus signatures, and to swiftly update its users' PCs.
Why is it so important to stay updated?
Because the damage is all too real... Self-propelled
spreading of viruses via email to everyone in your
own address book - family and friends alike! Inexplicably
deleted or modified files Degradation in PC performance
that slows down productivity System instability
that leads to frequent freezes and crashes Trojan
worms unleashed via virus - they can steal and
forward sensitive information, plus lead to identity
theft Security settings compromised to facilitate
additional infiltration Thoroughly Safe Yes, while
there are many brands of protection to choose from,
when you consider what's at stake every day - not
just the infection of your computer but also the
invasion of your personal life! - it pays to be
protected by the most up-to-date and thoroughly
engineered security software available.
Anti-Virus programs often find
Viruses & Spyware, in your 'System Retore' folders.
These are not be removed, they have to be removed
in another way.
To remove those viruses:
Windows ME:
To turn off Windows Me System Restore
On the Windows taskbar, click Start > Settings > Control Panel.
Double-click the System icon.
If the System icon is not visible, click View all Control Panel options
to display it.
On the Performance tab, click File System.
On the Troubleshooting tab check Disable System Restore.
Click OK.
When you are asked to restart Windows, click Yes.
Run your Virus Scan again to confirm your computer is free of viruses
Then follow the next steps
To turn on Windows Me System Restore
On the Windows taskbar, click Start > Settings > Control
Panel.
Double-click the System icon.
If the System icon is not visible, click View all Control Panel options
to display it.
On the Performance tab, click File System.
On the Troubleshooting tab, uncheck Disable System Restore.
Click OK.
When you are asked to restart Windows, click Yes.
Windows XP
To turn off Windows XP System Restore
Click the Start button.
Right-click My Computer, and then click Properties.
On the System Restore tab.
Put a checkmark in: Turn off System Restore or Turn off System Restore
on all drives.
Click Apply.
The following message appears:
This deletes all existing restore points.
Click Yes to do this.
Click OK.
Proceed with what you need to do.
For example, removing viruses.
Restart the computer and run your Virus Scan again.
To turn on Windows XP System Restore
again:
Follow the steps in the previous section, but
in step 3, but:
UNCHECK Turn off System Restore or Turn off System Restore on all drives.
Then click OK.
Restrt your computer again.Technical Information:
What is System Restore?
System Restore, a Windows XP feature, is similar to the
" Last Known Good Configuration" in Windows NT and Windows 2000.
You can use System Restore to restore the computer to a previous state,
using the backups that it makes of selected system files and program
files.
Unlike the "Last Known Good Configuration" feature,
System Restore maintains multiple restore points.
This gives you the choice of restoring your computer to any number
of previously saved states.
While this is a desirable feature, in some cases it should be temporarily
turned off.
For example, if the computer is infected with a virus,
then it is possible that the virus could be backed up by System Restore.
By default, Windows prevents System Restore from being modified by
outside programs.
As a result, there is the possibility that you could restore a virus-infected
file,
or that the on-line scanners would detect the virus in that location.
Disabling System Restore does not delete or remove any personal data
from your computer.
The only files removed are those that System Restore created, the restore
points.
Using System Restore to revert to a previously saved restore point
DOES NOT affect any of your personal data files or any items
in your My Documents folder.
For more information search the Microsoft Windows Help
(Click Start > Help and Support) and search for:
" System Restore Overview" and "Understanding System Restore."
These documents explain what System Restore is, how it works,
and give more information about the effects of turning it on or off.
Definitions
of Computer 'Threats'
Adware
Adware is software that downloads and displays
as an offer or
advertisement, like a pop-up or pop-under ad. This type of software
comes bundled often with 'freeware'. And here’s the catch: When
you
say ‘yes’ on the freeware license agreement, you’re
often saying ‘yes’
to receiving these unwanted, and potentially dangerous ads.
Hijacking
This is when a computer hacker gains access
to a PC or network, and
then is able to control files, programs or functions remotely to perform
various malicious tasks.
Keyloggers
Programs that secretly record your keystrokes,
maintain a log of
these keyboard and mouse click activities, and then reports this
information to unknown parties, from advertisers to malicious
hackers. Keyloggers are dangerous because they’re utilized to
steal
usernames, passwords, PINs and more.
Identity
Theft
Usually associated with spyware pests, identity
theft involves the
covert accessing, gathering and forwarding of sensitive personal and
financial user information from a user's PC to an unknown hacker's
destination.
Malware
Short for malicious software, malware is a catchall
term that applies to
most kinds of computer threats, such as viruses, worms, spyware, etc.
Phishing
A phishing scam comes to users in the guise
of legitimate-looking
emails or websites that, once executed, can unleash viruses , worms
and other malware threats. [jump links to these definitions] Believing
they are interacting with authentic Web content, users are then duped
into divulging sensitive personal and financial information, such as
bank account passwords, credit card numbers and more.
Spyware
Any uninvited program that can covertly gain
access to, and take up
residence on, a PC or network, and then begin to track and report on
user Web activity, such as behavior patterns, Internet destinations,
buying habits and more. In the process, spyware discloses sensitive
user information to hackers.
Trojan
Horse
Like the myth for which it is named, Trojan
horses are effective
because users themselves allow or invite what seem to be legitimate
files or programs onto their PCs, and usually do so via seemingly
innocent downloads. The user's PC now has an entry point for
malicious software to intrude, infect and do unknown harm.
Virus
A virus is a malicious program that is usually
triggered by the opening
or launching of an unfamiliar email attachment or Web link. The virus
self-replicates within a PC to corrupt and/or erase files, functions,
and
applications. It then utilizes the user's own address book to forward
replicated copies of itself onto other unsuspecting victims.
Worm
A worm is an Internet threat that can be launched
onto PCs via mass
email attachments and is designed to seek out and infect various files
and applications seemingly in arbitrary fashion. The worm can then
forward itself onto other PCs via the infected user's own address
book.
Zombies
These are programs that install themselves on
machines, and remain
dormant until an external event triggers them into action. This could
do damage to your PC, steal your personal information and send it to
an unauthorized email account, or even open up remote control access
to your machine.
FREE 'TRUSTED' spyware/adware
removal programs:
Please be careful when downloading programs
that say they are free!
Especially the ones that are in 'popups' that say:
"Your computer is infected, 'click here to scan' or 'download this program'
(You saw it in a popup didn't you? Shouldn't that tell you something?)
MANY spyware/adware removal or protection programs come with their
own spyware attached!!
MOST programs that you get from a popup, will scan and find spyware
that the program itself puts on your computer!
Then tells you that you have to buy the program to get rid of the spyware
it found!!
Sneaky huh?
Tested and trusted programs for removing spyware/adware/trojans etc..
AdAware
SE from LavaSoft
SpyBot
S&D from PepiMK Software
Microsoft
AntiSpyware (XP only) from Microsoft
NOTE: (you must have a legal copy of XP to use d/l this program)
Some of the signs of spyware/adware/trojans
on your computer are:
Your computer starts much slower than it usually does or should. You
enter a search term in Internet Explorer's address bar and press Enter
to start the search. Instead of your usual search site, an unfamiliar
site handles the search. Your antispyware program or another protective
program stops working correctly. It may warn you that certain necessary
support files are missing, but if you restore the files they go missing
again. It may appear to launch normally and then spontaneously shut
down, or it may simply crash whenever you try to run it. A new item
appears in your Favorites list without your putting it there. No matter
how many times you delete it, the item always reappears later. Your
system runs noticeably slower than it did before. The network/modem
icon in your system tray flashes rapidly even when you're not using
the connection. A search toolbar or other browser toolbar appears even
though you didn't request or install it. Your attempts to remove it
fail, or it comes back after removal. You get pop-up advertisements
when your browser is not running or when your system is not even
connected to the Internet, or you get pop-up ads that address
you by name. When you start your browser, the home page has changed
to something undesirable. You change it back manually, but before long
you find that it has changed back again. And the final sign is: Everything
appears to be normal. The most devious spyware doesn't leave traces
you'd notice, so scan your system anyway.
DEFINITIONS:
1. Any software that covertly gathers
user information through the user's Internet connection
without his or her knowledge, usually for advertising
purposes. Spyware applications are typically bundled
as a hidden component of freeware or shareware
programs that can be downloaded from the Internet.
Once installed, the spyware monitors user activity
on the Internet and transmits that information
in the background to someone else.
2. A general term for a class of software that monitors the actions
of a computer user. This software falls into a number of categories:
Software that may be installed legitimately to provide security or
workplace monitoring, software with relatively benign purposes that
may be associated with marketing data collection and software that
is maliciously installed, either as a general violation of a user’s
privacy or to collect information to allow further attacks on their
computer or online ...
3. Installs and gathers information from a computer
without permission, and reports the information to the
creator of the software or to one or more third parties.
It provides the consumer with little or no control over
removing the software. Spyware can change system settings,
install keystroke loggers, collect and report consumer's
personal information, use computer processing capacity
without permission, and deliver spam or ads without consumer's
notice and consent.
4. Spyware is potentially more dangerous
beast than Adware because it can record your
keystrokes, history, passwords, and other
confidential and private information. Spyware
is often sold as a spouse monitor, child
monitor, a surveillance tool or simply as
a tool to spy on users to gain unauthorized
access. Spyware is also known as: snoopware,
PC surveillance, key logger, system recorders,
Parental control software, PC recorder, Detective
software and Internet monitoring software.
