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Viruses
-- What, How, Who, Why?
Computer viruses wreak havoc on unsuspecting computer users every day. The key word is 'unsuspecting'.
This month in our "Technology Watch" segment, you will learn what viruses are, how to be suspicious of them, what to do if you get a virus and most importantly how to prevent your system from acquiring the nasty critters.
Viruses contain programming language like any other program you run on your computer. However, this code is usually aimed at doing damage rather than helping you accomplish a task. Today, more than 48,000 computer viruses exist and hundreds more make their way into systems every month.
Viruses spread through a variety of methods, but he most common is email. Most commonly they transport themselves via email attachments...and can appear quite placid. Even more dangerous, they appear to be sent from a friend or family member. They can also be spread via infected floppy disks, cd-roms, or infected files downloaded from the Internet.
At their most mundane, a virus may simply flash an annoying message on your screen. However, viruses can also be quite lethal to the health of a computer system completely destroying a hard drive and valuable data. The three most common types of viruses are: system or boot-record infectors, macro viruses, and file infectors.
System or boot-records attempt to take control of your system by preventing you from seeing your hard drive at boot up, thus rendering the system useless.
Macro viruses tend not to be as damaging and usually plant jokes or obscene remarks in word processing or spreadsheet files.
File infectors are the most common and potentially the most dangerous. They will erase and take over important Windows (system) files, erase data files, prevent access to the Internet, or even cause a spontaneous re-format (erasure) of your hard drive.
If this sounds a little frightening, good! I've done my job. Usually, it takes fright to ignite action. As I complete this article over the next few weeks, you will learn how to prevent such digital
catastrophes from happening to your computer.
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Part II - Safe Computing
Follow these general rules for a safer computing
experience:
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Never open an attachment that you weren't expecting.
Reading an email alone will usually not infect your system. The
attachments contain the deadly payload.
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Be cautious of opening attachments from friends and
family. Many computer viruses disguise themselves by making them
look like they were legitimately sent from a person you know. If you
want to be extra careful, download the attachment to a floppy disk
and then scan the disk with your anti-virus software.
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Do not download files from fringe web sites. Stick
with the well known sites such as: Hotfiles.com
or Download.com
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Do not forward e-mail warnings about viruses...many
of these are Internet hoaxes or sometimes have viruses themselves!
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Use a virus protection program. Three good ones are:
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Once you get a virus program, keep it updated
WEEKLY or more often!!
In our next installment, you will learn how to deal with
a virus if one of the little critters get through your defenses.
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Part III - Cleaning your system
after a virus invasion
Again, if you practice the above techniques of safe
computing, your chances of becoming infected drop to almost nil. However,
in the event you do contract a virus, follow these steps:
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Don't panic...isn't this the first rule to follow in
any emergency??
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If you are still connected to the Internet when you
find out, go to one of these following sites to search for your virus:
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The first two tools will allow you to search for,
print and possibly download tools for removing your virus. Follow the
instructions to the letter. The second two tools will scan for the
virus while you are connected to the Internet.
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After virus removal completes, purchase, install, and
update an anti-virus program!!
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