anti-virus...what's the next step?

[Rokko]

anti-virus...what's the next step?

by: Ahmed M. Dirie

Webdefied

http://www.webdefied.com

June 03, 2002

 

The common misunderstanding of anti-virus software is that once you install it…you're worry free. No more viruses. I beg to differ. Once you purchase anti-virus software, it works to protect you from existing viruses.

 

According to our friends at Symantec, to date, they have detected 61626 viruses. That's a lot of viruses to be protected from. Have you thought of the viruses that are being developed everyday? There are at least 16 new viruses each new day. So a month after your last update, there are already 500 viruses out to get to your system.

 

What you have to understand is how viruses work. Viruses reproduce at an astonishing rate through various means. This all depends on the virus. There are several types of viruses. There are the email viruses, traditional viruses, trojan horses, and the worst so far in the news, the malicious worm virus.

 

These viruses all have a specific function. The email virus is passed around through email. Once a system is infected with an email virus, it replicates itself in other emails, and emails the virus to all the contacts in the email application.

 

A traditional virus, such as macro viruses attaches to applications such as Excel and other spreadsheet programs. Once running, the virus is activated and runs to attach to other applications to perform certain function.

 

Trojans work in several ways. Hackers use trojan horses to monitor activities on host computers. Also, Trojans have the ability to destroy all the information on your computer.

 

The worst type of virus so far, which has made news headline on a regular basis is the worm virus. It attacks security holes on NT systems, and Servers. Upon penetrating a system with a security hole, it scans the network for other systems with a similar security hole and copies itself to that system. It works to direct people to other sites, and changes complete web servers to indicate various messages on a website.

 

So, you ask yourself, how do you stay protected from viruses? Well, to start with, there are various anti-virus applications which you can choose to protect your system. The only important factor that will keep your system protected is to constantly update your virus definitions. This keeps the anti-virus application up to date to protect you from newer viruses as well as those currently protected. A few of the more trusted names have a feature that allows your system to automatically update its definition files when you're online.

 

The techs at McAfee have written up detection and prevention tips that will help you stay clear of viruses which you will find below.

 

anti-virus tips (from mcafee)

Virus Detection and Prevention Tips

 

1. Do not open any files attached to an email from an unknown, suspicious or untrustworthy source.

2. Do not open any files attached to an email unless you know what it is, even if it appears to come from a dear friend or someone you know. Some viruses can replicate themselves and spread through email. Better be safe than sorry and confirm that they really sent it.

3. Do not open any files attached to an email if the subject line is questionable or unexpected. If the need to do so is there always save the file to your hard drive before doing so.

4. Delete chain emails and junk email. Do not forward or reply to any to them. These types of email are considered spam, which is unsolicited, intrusive mail that clogs up the network.

5. Do not download any files from strangers.

6. Exercise caution when downloading files from the Internet. Ensure that the source is a legitimate and reputable one. Verify that an anti-virus program checks the files on the download site. If you're uncertain, don't download the file at all or download the file to a floppy and test it with your own anti-virus software.

7. Update your anti-virus software regularly. Over 500 viruses are discovered each month, so you'll want to be protected. These updates should be at the least the products virus signature files. You may also need to update the product's scanning engine as well.

8. Back up your files on a regular basis. If a virus destroys your files, at least you can replace them with your back-up copy. You should store your backup copy in a separate location from your work files, one that is preferably not on your computer.

9. When in doubt, always err on the side of caution and do not open, download, or execute any files or email attachments. Not executing is the more important of these caveats. Check with your product vendors for updates which include those for your operating system web browser, and email . One example is the security site section of Microsoft located at http://www.microsoft.com/security.

10. If you are not sure about a potential virus related situation, please visit the Contact Avert site for more information.