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Computer Viruses

How to Protect Yourself

PFW.com - 2002 These days, it's safe to assume that anyone who uses the Internet - and that means millions and millions of people - has at least heard of something called a computer virus. However, given that computer viruses continue to be a major cause of inconvenience, downtime and even damage to computer systems around the world, it's also safe to assume that a good percentage of Internet users are not fully aware of what a computer virus is, how it spreads or how to protect their data from being infected by one. The goal of this article is to give you the basics for understanding what viruses are, what they can do, and - although no one who uses a computer is immune from viruses - what steps you can take to defend yourself against them.

What is a computer virus?
Put simply, a computer virus is a program just like any other program you run on your computer, with one important difference: a virus is designed with the ability to replicate. This is why the name 'virus' is particularly apt - just like a biological virus, a computer virus can spread quickly and be difficult to eradicate. Instead of attaching to a host organism, a computer virus can attach itself to just about any kind of file and then be passed from system to system. In the past, most viruses spread primarily by floppy disk - a system infected with a virus would attach that virus to a file on the disk, which was then transferred to a new, previously uninfected system when the floppy disk was used. Now, with e-mail having become an crucial communication tool, the spread of viruses has become much easier and faster - a virus can spread around the world in no time at all, often causing massive, expensive losses of productivity for corporations and frustration for individuals.

What can computer viruses do?
Not all computer viruses are damaging. Some viruses may just display a message or image on your screen; others may destroy files, reformat your hard drive, or cause other kinds of problems. Even if the virus itself isn't damaging, it can still indirectly affect your system by taking up storage space and memory, each of which could negatively affect the performance of the infected computer.

Two common type of computer viruses found on the Internet today are:

• The 'Trojan horse': a virus that enters your system by disguising itself as something innocent. These usually arrive in e-mail. Although they do not spread by themselves, they can do damage or compromise the security of your computer.
• The 'worm': a program that makes copies of itself, often by using e-mail as a transport mechanism. Like a Trojan horse, a worm may also do damage or make your computer less secure, but more seriously, it can use your computer as a way to spread to other systems without your knowledge.

How can you defend your system against computer viruses?
Your first line of defense against a computer virus is being aware of what viruses are and how they spread. These days, most viruses enter a computer system or network by e-mail, which means that at some point someone received the virus in their e-mail and unintentionally activated it. Unlike viruses that attach themselves to files and then spread on floppy disks or over a network, a virus that spreads by e-mail gives you a chance to spot it and delete it before it can affect you and your organization. Following are three common-sense tips to help you prevent the spread of a computer virus.

1. Be wary of attachments. One of the best ways to prevent virus infections is to simply not open attachments that arrive unexpectedly in your e-mail inbox. Even if the e-mail comes from someone you know, be careful - a number of viruses, once resident on a computer, will send copies of themselves to everyone in the infected computer's address book without the user's knowledge. Often, infected attachments will accompany a message encouraging you to open the attached joke, screen saver or game. If in doubt about an attachment that has been sent to you, respond to the sender asking if the attachment is legitimate - if it is a virus, the sender will most likely have no idea that his or her computer is infected and has been sending out these messages. Even if the attachment is expected and legitimate, to remove all doubt you should still use a virus-scanning program to scan the file before opening it - which brings us to our next tip.

2. Get protected. Virus protection software (often called antivirus software) running on your computer or network is crucial in helping you ward off virus infection. This software is often included with new computers, or may be purchased inexpensively. When you consider the costs of downtime and loss of productivity that could result if your computer or network is hit with a virus, having an antivirus software solution in place makes considerable sense. Some organizations choose to load antivirus software individually on each user's computer; others choose add an additional level of protection by having their e-mail server run an antivirus program to scan incoming and outgoing e-mail messages before they reach their intended recipient.

3. Stay informed. This step can be as simple as keeping the virus protection software you use up to date - as new viruses are discovered, the software is updated by its manufacturer to protect against those new viruses, and your individual copy must be updated to add the increased protection. If you receive an e-mail that appears to contain a virus or a virus is detected by your antivirus software, spread the word to others in your organization who may not be as vigilant as yourself. Finally, remember that the first line of defense against computer virus infections is awareness - the more informed you are about viruses, the less likely it is that one will affect you. An excellent Internet web site that contains general virus information as well as up-to-date details and removal tools for current virus threats is http://securityresponse.symantec.com.

It should be noted that computer viruses generally infect Windows-based computer systems. Although the IBM eServer iSeries can store virus-infected files and transfer virus-infected e-mail messages, it is not itself susceptible to virus infection. For assistance or recommendations on an antivirus strategy for your dealership's computer systems, please contact PFW.