If
you haven't dealt with a virus yet, your experience is coming. It is not a
matter of if, but when. Thousands of viruses are active in the Internet; it
seems we hear of a new one every other day! More on Viruses....
So many out there, and more every day!
If
you haven't dealt with a virus yet, your experience is coming. It is not a
matter of if, but when. Thousands of viruses are active in the Internet; it
seems we hear of a new one every other day!
When we first heard of viruses, most of us were not networked or on the Internet and only needed to worry about making sure the floppies we used were virus-free. Within an amazingly short period of time technology evolved to the point where "we all" were browsing the Internet and email was replacing telephone calls, notes and memos. With the building popularity of email this medium became a perfect channel for viruses to be spread through email attachments. The novelty made most of us, through our curiosity, ideal targets for (and abetting propagators of) virus activity. The same also applied to the spreading of malicious software (mal-ware), but that is another issue.
Users new to email and the broad affiliated resources arena would usually, unknowingly and recklessly, open viral attachments from unknown senders, allowing the virus access to the PC. Upon access, the virus, true to its definition, performs its specific programmed role established by its program author and attempts re-generation or propagation. Early viruses were usually spread unknowingly by the user sharing an infected disk or forwarding the virus through email to friends & family.
As virus authors became more sophisticated, virus programs included instruction to “steal” email addresses and automatically send infected emails to every email address in the users’ address book. You would, for example, receive an email from a friend, family member or acquaintance that included a (random) file attachment from that person’s PC. If you opened the file on your PC in the absence of a virus protection program that scanned email attachments before opening, BLAM! Your PC was infected; and, you would be unaware. You would probably learn that something was wrong when a friend or family member asked why you emailed him/her a personal or unusual file.
Technological progress also brought web sites infected with viruses that search for weaknesses or “holes” in the browser and operating system of PC(s) visiting the site. When a browser accessed the site the virus file would enter the computer and activate its programmed role. Remember, to be classified as a virus the program must provide for re-generation and propagation. Grow and spread.
The latest virus activity targets our PC(s) through instant messenger programs. Infectious activity is somewhat similar (but not identical) to spreading through email. The virus does “steal” the instant messenger “buddy list.” Incoming instant messages identified as coming from a “buddy” may include a URL (link to a malicious web site) or an invitation to open an (infected) attached file.
If you are not expecting a specific URL link or file from that “buddy,” be sure to confirm the instant message is legitimate before taking any further action!
A good virus protection program that scans all files before opening or downloading is the best protection available at this time. If you aren’t using a virus protection program, don’t wait until you loose valuable data and experience expensive computer service costs.
Believe me, an ounce of prevention is definitely better than a pound of cure!