Computersight -

A computer virus is basically a computer program which is able to duplicate itself and attack a computer without the user’s knowledge. The virus (and its clones) will keep duplicating itself until it has completely taken over the system or until it has been completely removed.

Why should i be concerened?

Viruses can do many things, some of which are more harmful than others. Below are some of the signs that you have a virus:

      Files are being deleted without your knowledge

      There are messages on your screen that you did not receive before

      Labels keep changing

      Your hard drive keeps getting overwritten

      You are unable to access your hard drive

      The system’s time/date has been altered

      Hard ware problems (broken keys, modem, ect.)

      Slowed system

      Computer makes strange noises

      There are many error messages

How does one receive a virus?

Viruses are contracted the same way one would catch a virus such as a cold in real life. They infect your computer after coming into contact into a computer or file that already has a virus. For example, if you save an infected file on a removable disk, then by opening up the infected file on your computer will give you the virus as well. They can also be contracted through e-mail, the downloading of files on software on the internet, or P2P sharing.

why should i use precautions when opening an email and an attachment?

The first thing you should to do before even thinking of opening an attachment is if the sender is someone reputable or if it is someone you trust. However, just because a sender looks reputable doesn’t necessarily mean so. For example, anyone could pretend to be from a well known company with an email address like walmartshoppe@hotmail.com. If you don’t recall giving your email out to that company, don’t bother opening up the attachment. Another tip is if you get an email attachment from a friend, make sure that your friend has put some text in the email and didn’t just give you an email with only an attachment. If anything seems weird or out of place, feel free to just delete it.

What’s a trojan Horse?

A Trojan horse was once one of the biggest system threats but today, it is only a problem for those without anti-virus protection or firewalls. The Trojan horse will enter a computer’s hard drive undetected and gain access to the user’s information. The person who sent the Trojan virus may decide to look on that person’s computer for personal information such as credit card or bank numbers. The intruder can also go in an delete/alter files. Trojans vary in the amount of damage they may do.

What is a worm?

A worm is a virus which differs in what they do. Some worms do not direct damage to a system whereas other worms can clog up a network and all its users very quickly.

What will virus protection do?

Virus protection will scan your documents for common viruses before you download them and detect viruses that your computer may already have as soon as possible. They add increased security for your computer.

What are some of the common virus protection/anti-virus software avaliable?

Two of the most common protection software available today are McAfee Antivirus Software and Norton Antivirus.

AN EXAMPLE VIRUS

To give you an idea of what a virus can do, here is some information about a sample virus called the W32.Kernellbot. A. It is a good sample virus to talk about because it covers many of the issues in most viruses.

WHAT IS IT?

This virus comes in the form of a Trojan or a worm. It is also known as WORM_KERBOT.A. It, like most viruses, is classified as easy to remove and its threat level is pretty low with only two known sites and 49 infections.

HOW DOES IT SPREAD?

It spreads by exploiting the vulnerable parts of a computer and through file sharing networks such as Bearshare.

WHAT’S THE EXTENT OF DAMAGE?

The damage level is fairly significant as it may download more infected files onto the already infected computer. It also lowers security settings. For example, you will be unable to restart your computer in safe mode should you have this virus.

Keep in mind that not all viruses are like this. There are varying amounts of damage that may occur depending on a specific strain and computer. To figure out which strain of virus you may have, look at the first source located at the back of this pamphlet.