Original Sender : Ari <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------- http://www.phillynews.com/inquirer/99/Mar/31/business/VIRUS31.htm Some ways to ward off a nasty virus ------------------------------------------ By John Fried INQUIRER STAFF WRITER Maybe it is the long winter that keeps computer hackers indoors for months, but March is the month for viruses. The much-dreaded and anticipated Maltese Amoeba and Michelangelo viruses struck in March a few years ago. Now we have the Melissa and Papa viruses. What exactly are computer viruses and what can anyone do about them? Here are some frequently asked questions to help make sense of it all. Question: What is a computer virus? Answer: A virus is a small program designed to infiltrate computers and the programs they run. A virus can duplicate itself and move from computer to computer. Q: Are all viruses bad? A: Some are designed to be destructive. They can destroy crucial files; make it impossible for the user to retrieve information from the machine's storage area, the hard drive; or even stop the computer from operating. Others are meant to show off the cleverness of their authors. The Melissa virus was created to search out e-mail address books on computers it infected, then reproduce itself in e-mails it sends to the first 50 names on the list. Each Melissa-infected e-mail carries the notation "Important message from. . ." and the sender's name. While Melissa was not designed to do damage, its wildfire-like spread disrupted e-mail systems and kept information technology engineers at companies large and small working over the weekend. Q: How great a threat do viruses pose? A: Hard to say. Some independent experts, as well as manufacturers of computer programs capable of detecting and destroying viruses, say the threat is huge. The Melissa virus, some experts say, demonstrates how well a hacker can take advantage of e-mail to spread a virus far and wide. At least so far, the reality has been slightly different. In March 1992, experts and the media, alerted to the rise of the Michelangelo virus, warned that up to five million computers worldwide would be adversely affected when the virus went into action on the great artist's birthday. When it was all over, the number of computers affected was in the few thousands. Similarly, last weekend, when Melissa was first detected, experts warned that infections would be rampant. In the end, it turned out that the virus hit several hundred thousand computers. That is a lot of machines, but only a minuscule percentage of the 49 million computers in U.S. homes alone in 1998, according to Dataquest. In truth, the individual computer user runs a very small risk of catching a computer virus. Q: OK, but what can I do to protect myself from viruses? A: First, practice safe computing. Although Melissa has heightened our sensitivities to the possibility of Internet-borne viruses, it is far more likely for now that your computer will come down with a virus passed on by someone close to you. Simply put: Don't accept diskettes, even from family members, that carry secondhand copies of programs. You never know where that diskette and program have been before. Q: I don't borrow diskettes or programs from friends, but I do download programs from the Internet. Are those also unsafe? A: That depends. Download a program from the Web site maintained by a well-known and respected company and it is extremely unlikely that you will download a virus as well. But among the 325 million Web sites on the Internet today there are countless ones maintained by individuals or groups whose trustworthiness is hard to assess. Many of these sites offer programs for free or at nominal costs. Be wary about downloading - importing - them to your computer. Furthermore, there are also discussion groups - Internet sites where people exchange messages on specific topics - where individuals often post programs of their creation. Again, be leery of downloading them. Q: And e-mail? A: It is OK to open e-mail from unknown sources. However, e-mail messages often come with attachments - additional information in self-contained files. These are the files that carry viruses. If you don't know the sender or have any reason to be suspicious, do not open the attachment. Q: Can documents spread viruses? A: Sometimes. In Microsoft Word, utilities known as macros - small programs that execute custom-made commands or insert predetermined text into the document - can carry viruses. Approach copies of Word documents with care. Q: It sounds as if safe computing takes a lot of the fun and usefulness out of computing, if I can't download programs, accept diskettes from others, or even open a Word document created by someone else. A: Abstinence is one answer, but not the only one. Backing up your files regularly is a sure way to avoid damage done by viruses. Should your computer be affected by a malicious virus, you can use backup files to return data to the machine. Antivirus programs also are useful. There are about a dozen available, including the leaders of the pack: Dr. Solomon's Anti-Virus Toolkit, Norton AntiVirus, and McAfee VirusScan. These programs are designed to intercept and nullify viruses that come to you from diskettes as well as those that travel the Internet. Q: Any other electronic threats I should worry about? A: Yes. The endless e-mail alarms about viruses you receive from friends and relatives. While well-intentioned, the warnings often are wrong, out of date, or do little but propagate hoaxes. Before passing on a virus warning, determine whether the threat is real. Two places on the Web where up-to-date information on viruses is available include: http://symantec.com/avcenter/index.html and http://www.sophos.com/virusinfo/analyses/ ---------------------------------------------------------------- Compu-Mania MailingList is provided by PT Centrin Utama Maintained by : [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Post a msg : Send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Unsubscribe : Mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] BODY : unsubscribe Compu-Mania For more information, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with "HELP" in the BODY of your mail (without quote). ----------------------------------------------------------------
