"Git Along, Little Virii"

How To Protect Your Computer From Dastardly Attacks

By Barbara Higgins

"Yeehaa! Howdy Pardners! This here’s Calamity Barb, bringin’ you the lowdown on all them dastardly viruses that have been plaguin’ your computers!"

Actually, the plural of virus is virii, but that’s such a minor point it doesn't bear mentioning. Oops, I just did, didn't I? Oh, well…

At any rate, a computer virus is nothing more than a program of any length which modifies your computer’s files or system configuration without your knowledge and/or consent. It’s somebodies idea of how to screw with your head by screwing with your computer.

Virii are created by hackers or crackers who have the desire to prove something. Hackers usually are computer programmers who are trying to prove that they can get into a system or change a system as a way of improving security or of finding loopholes and back doors into vulnerable systems, which can then be repaired with a "bugfix" program. Crackers are programmers who try to get into someone else’s system for their own gain. Some will try to get credit card numbers, some will try to get your computer to send them vital information so that they can then access your systems and download any information they feel is valuable. Some just try to FUBAR your system for fun and to prove they can do it. Kinda makes you wish they'd go and climb Mt. Everest like everybody else.

Virii come in several flavors; macros, exe files, com files, bootsector virii, and Visual Basic Script, or vbs files. Each one attacks a different section of your computer. Macrovirii attack Microsoft Word, Excel, and Access files. EXE and COM virii attack the Operating System of your computer. Bootsector virii attack the section of your computer that starts your operating system when you turn your computer on. VBS virii overwrite files such as jpegs and mp3’s and may attempt to email itself to other machines in order to spread the infection.

How do virii spread? Well, usually, they are received as email attachment to some intriguing bit of email encouraging the computer user to open the file to see some exciting or naughty material. VBS/Loveletter masqueraded as a loveletter from someone the user may or may not know. If it was mass E-mailed from a friend’s machine, the user could mistake it for the real thing and open it, thus setting the virus free to rummage through the computer. Some are downloaded as part of a game which may be downloaded from an internet site.

So what can you do about keeping your computer secure from virii? Well, first off, buy a reliable antivirus scanner and install it. A scanner doesn't help protect your computer if it’s still sitting on your desk in its shrink-wrap. Second, keep your antivirus scanner up to date. All antivirus companies put out periodic updates which help the scanner to detect more and more virii before they are executed and attack your machine.

Another thing you can do is set up your MSWord program to detect macros when you open a word file. Go into your OPTIONS on your menu bar, select GENERAL, then make sure there is a check mark next to MACRO VIRUS PROTECTION. This will cause Word to pop up a window which tells you that there are macros in the file you are about to open. You may then either close the file without opening it or disable the macros and open the file (in which case, you can read the document but the virus won’t execute). Do not open the file with macros enabled unless you have scanned the file first and are sure the macros are a harmless part of the document.

Yet another thing you should do to protect your operating system against exe, com, boot, and vbs files is to save them to your download folder rather than open them. When you click on an attachment to open it, a window comes up asking if you want to open the file or if you want to save it to another location. Once the file is saved in Downloads, run your virus scanner against it. If it comes up clean, then you can open it. My advice, however, is to never open an attached file if you don't know who sent it or if it came from a suspicious source. If it came from a friend, ask that friend if he or she sent you a file recently and what the file is. If your friend denies it, delete the file immediately without opening it. It was probably mass-mailed from an infected computer.

You may also want to use a browser like Eudora or Netscape. The Windows email system is known to have security holes which are frequently exploited by crackers So do Windows 95 and 98. Windows NT is less susceptible to viral attacks.

And don't think you're safe if you're a Mac or Unix user. There are plenty of virii out there for you, too. Just make sure your antivirus product also covers these two platforms as well. And the same precautions about opening strange attachments applies. Always save them to another location and scan them with your antivirus scanner before opening them. If they come up as infected, delete them immediately without opening them.

Another way to keep your system safe from crackers is to minimize the amount of time you spend online. Some people get online and stay there, even when they are working on something on their hard drive. Many Internet Service Providers (ISP) will kick you off after a certain amount of idle time, but some won’t. If a cracker has a password into your computer or has created a back door into your operating system, the longer you're online, the more time the cracker has to access your system. When you're not actively doing something on line, shut your internet connection down.

Some computers are kept secure from virii and intrusions by a firewall, a program which doesn't allow unauthorized files to enter. Firewalls can be a problem because they will stop anything that looks like a virus, even an antivirus update. You'll have to decide for yourself if you want this level of security.

Another form of antivirus and security software actually undoes the damage a virus or intrusion does to your machine. It takes a "snapshot" of your system and files and keeps it as a baseline. After that, if your system or files are compromised by a virus or cracker, the software can compare the system to the original "snapshot" and correct any changes that were made. This is the best kind of security software to have, since it actually repairs any damage done by an accidentally-opened virus.

Just remember, your computer is only as good as the antivirus/security measures you take. A good antivirus scanner and a little care will protect your machine, and your valuable information, from disaster.

Yeehaaaaaa!