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Worms, Virii, Trojan Horses, and Alerts
VIRUS WARNING!!!!!
IMPORTANT VIRUS ALERT!!!
NO VIRUS SOFTWARE CAN DETECT
THIS!!
WHATEVER YOU DO, DON’T OPEN
THIS FILE!
DELETE THIS FILE IMMEDIATELY,
OR IT WILL DESTROY YOUR HARD DRIVE, STEAL YOUR CREDIT CARD NUMBERS, SELL YOUR
HOUSE, AND GIVE YOUR CAR A FLAT TIRE!!!
Situation:
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Well-meaning friends, family, and
business associates may send an email to you concerning the possibility of
having transmitted a virus/worm/trojan to you. Oftentimes, the email claims
that the virus/worm/trojan is not detectable by common anti-virus software,
and the email recipient is urged to immediately delete a file or download an
attached “fix” for the virus. In some cases, the email may appear to come
from a trusted source, such as Microsoft or Norton. |
Problem:
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In most situations, these warnings are
either hoaxes (without any real danger) or, worse, are the virii/trojans/worms
themselves. In the case of hoaxes, it is likely that the files the recipient
is told to delete are essential system files. In other cases, clicking on—or
even viewing in the preview pane—the attachment exposes the recipient’s
system to a virus, worm, or trojan. |
Solution:
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First and most importantly, KEEP YOUR
VIRUS DEFINITIONS UPDATED. Norton, McAfee, and AVG all have methods to
schedule or automatically run updates. Furthermore, these programs use
heuristics to measure “virus-like” activity— meaning that even if the
exploit is not yet known, it is quite likely that the AV software will
attempt to prevent it from executing its payload. |
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SCAN your system regularly—at least once a
week. Although AV programs continuously scan files as they are opened, by
running a full scan, you’re hedging your bets that nothing was missed. |
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BACK UP IMPORTANT FILES REGULARLY (Once a
day to once a week) |
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STOP. BREATHE. THINK. Real virii and
hoaxes act on fear. Most people become fearful because they haven’t backed
up information. Do it, and you’re a step ahead of the day. If you haven’t,
not all is lost. Don’t rush to delete files or click on the attached fix. |
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EDUCATE YOURSELF. If you happen to receive
a virus warning of some sort via email, take a few minutes to research via
symantec.com,
mcafee.com, or even
google.com. One recent hoax urged
recipients to delete sulfnbk.exe from their systems. A search on
Symantec—and
Google— uncovered that this was a hoax. |
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IF YOU POSITIVE YOU ARE “DOWN WITH A
VIRUS,” the smartest thing you could first do is physically unplug your
computer from the network (why share the fun?). Next, contact your system
administrator! She’ll check things out for you. |
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(C) Copyright 2003-2005 Andrea L. Beaudin. All Rights Reserved.
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