How they got the name What they are How they spread How to prevent them
and how to prevent their annoying evil twin, virus hoaxes
PC Viruses
PC Viruses
Computer viruses are called viruses because they share some of the traits of biological viruses.
A computer virus passes from computer to computer like a biological virus passes from person to person.
PC Viruses
PC Viruses
PC Viruses
PC Viruses
A virus is a small piece of software (code) that piggybacks on real programs, like Excel, that have embedded executable languages
Macro languages -- Visual Basic, etc.
PC Viruses
E-mail viruses
An e-mail virus moves around in attachments to e-mail messages, and usually replicates itself by automatically mailing itself to dozens of people in the victim's e-mail address book.
PC Viruses
One way to cleanse WinWord DOC files is to save them as RTF, which is text only and no macros.
PC Viruses
PC Viruses
Trojan Horse
A Trojan horse is a computer program
The program claims to do one thing
(it may claim to be a game)
PC Viruses
Worms
A worm is a small piece of software that uses computer networks and security holes to replicate itself.
A copy of the worm scans the network for another machine that has a specific security hole. It copies itself to the new machine and starts replicating from there
PC Viruses
Worms and Trojan horses are actually more common today than viruses.
Antivirus programs offer protection against all viruses, worms, and Trojans refer to all of these types of malware as viruses.
PC Viruses
PC Viruses
PC Viruses
The user has no way to know that the virus ever ran.
Unfortunately, the virus has now reproduced itself, so two programs are infected. The next time either of those programs gets executed, they infect other programs, and the cycle continues.
PC Viruses
PC Viruses
Virus Attacks
Some sort of trigger will activate the attack phase, and the virus will then "do something Anything from printing a silly message on the screen to erasing all of your data.
The trigger might be a specific date, or the number of times the virus has been replicated, or something similar.
PC Viruses
PC Viruses
PC Viruses
Buy virus protection software Avoid programs from unknown sources (like the Internet) Stick with commercial software purchased on CDs
PC Viruses
PC Viruses
PC Viruses
PC Viruses
But. . .
if you receive JDBGMGR.EXE as an email attachment, then it probably is infected.
PC Viruses
PC Viruses
PC Viruses
PC Viruses
First, update your system with Windows Update and Office Update
or, buy a Mac
PC Viruses
PC Viruses
PC Viruses
PC Viruses
PC Viruses
PC Viruses
PC Viruses
For some reason the word "miscreant" is a common catchphrase in hoaxes. Hoax viruses always seem to wield the powers of a vengeful binary god.
Such godlike viruses can often do nasty things to your system that are beyond the abilities of software, mere mortals, or even most hardware technicians.
PC Viruses
PC Viruses
PC Viruses
PC Viruses
Bonus Pack!
(Hes) seen a few infected systems, from a relatively benign Word Macro virus to one that trashed the HDD (so that) a lowlevel format was need to get it working again.
He goes on to say that the Australian Govt uses Leprechaun antivirus software
PC Viruses
Resources
Resources
PC Viruses
www.tokyopc.org/ Chit Chat Newsgroup -- Chit Chat Personal Computer Virus Attacks www.vmyths.com/ This site is NOT sponsored by antivirus companies it lists virus hoaxes www.symantec.com/avcenter/hoax.html Heres another hoax site, from Symantec www.symantec.com/avcenter/ Symantec Security Advisory site www.howstuffworks.com/virus.htm How computer viruses work www.cert.org/other_sources/viruses.html Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute, CERT Coordination Center Computer Virus Resources www.virusbtn.com/ Virus Bulletin Independent Anti Virus Advice www.ciac.llnl.gov/ciac/CIACVirusDatabase.html Although the Computer Incident Advisory Capability site (associated with the DOE) is no longer being maintained, it has loads of advice and information about PC and Mac viruses. Also links to other sites that are being maintained. www.zdnet.com/products/stories/reviews/0,4161,2248291,00.html ZD Nets tells you how to protect against computer viruses.
Resources
PC Viruses
www.special.northernlight.com/compvirus/ Current news, Journal articles and editorials; Virus Writers and Hackers; Journals, Portals and Reference; US Government Resources; Web bugs; Malware, Spyware, Adware and Trojan Horses; Diagnostics; Anti-Virus Solutions (over 30 of them!) www.research.ibm.com/antivirus/SciPapers/Wells/HOWTOSPOT/howtospot.ht ml Joe Wells seminar and funny paper on getting in the know www.jaring.nmhu.edu/virus.htm Computer viruses have been with us since the late 1980s and continue to increase in number. The following list includes some of the best sites on the Internet for describing computer viruses as well as links to many of the top anti-virus software sites. From Wayne Summers at New Mexico Highlands University. www3.ca.com/virusinfo/ More than I ever wanted to know about computer viruses. The Virus Information Center serves as a rich, up-to-the-minute resource, containing detailed information on viruses, worms, Trojans, and hoaxes, as well as valuable documentation on the implementation of comprehensive antivirus protection. CAs eTrust Antivirus Research Centers monitor around-the-clock to defend against the damaging effects a virus outbreak could cause.
Resources
PC Viruses
www.sophos.com/virusinfo/whitepapers/videmys.html An introduction to computer viruses written by Carole Theriault, carole.theriault@sophos.com, Sophos Plc, Oxford, UK and first published in: October 1999 www.cknow.com/vtutor/index.htm Computer Knowledge Virus Tutorial www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,6276,00.asp PC Magazine Personal Antivirus Article www.wildlist.org/ The world's premier source of information on which viruses are spreading In the Wild. But don't take our word for it. Read what PC Magazine, MSNBC an others have to say about us www.research.ibm.com/antivirus/SciPapers.htm With scientific papers titled, Where Theres Smoke, Theres Mirrors, how can you go wrong? http://vil.mcafee.com/dispVirus.asp?virus_k=99728McAfee detailed information on latest virus released into the Wild.
PC Viruses
Thank you!