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Arm Yourself Against Viruses
Thursday, December 28,2000
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* Please be assured
that I will never sell or share your email addresses with anyone else! I respect
your privacy.
Merry Christmas Everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful
Christmas and I'm looking forward to 2001. I have been late in sending
this edition for many reasons, but mostly because I wanted to send you a very
informative piece. I think this newsletter will educate you about viruses
and help you to protect yourselves in several ways so that you can feel more
CONFIDENT about email and the Internet.
I know I have briefly touched on viruses and hoaxes in the
first edition of my newsletter. I want to get more detailed and more
serious about this subject. Frankly, the viruses that are threatening our
computers these days are much more serious, and the reality is that these
viruses are going to become worse as time goes on. I'm not trying to scare
you, but I am trying to get your attention.
Nearly anyone with a bit of programming knowledge can write a
virus. A virus is a piece of code that instructs your computer to do
something (called the payload) that you don't want it to do. The payload
can be harmless, but annoying, or it can be as damaging as erasing your hard
drive or installing a secondary program that allows someone else to take over
your computer. It contaminates your system by copying itself into
programs, documents, or system files just like a flu virus works it's way into
your body and attacks your organs. Sounds nasty, doesn't it?! Macro
viruses--those written in macro programming language as in Microsoft Word--
account for 75 percent of all viruses in the wild because they are easy to write
and spread around through email.
There are two other types of malicious code called worms and
Trojan horses. They share some of the same characteristics
as viruses. The worm doesn't alter your files , but it copies itself into
your address book and slithers through other computers from home to home, or
through a network and clogs up your mailbox, or network. Sharing isn't
always a good thing! :) A couple of examples of the worms are Kak and
PrettyPark. The Trojan horse doesn't copy itself, but it comes to your
computer disguised as something benign like a screensaver or a
"harmless" game you've downloaded from that "cute
website". Be careful what you download; scan it with your anti-viral
software before you open it (right click on the file, and then in the menu
choose "scan with your antivirus). When a Trojan horse is loaded onto your
machine, it can capture information from your system or allow someone else to
commandeer your computer remotely.
I'm sure many of you remember the Melissa virus in 1999 and
LoveLetter virus in 2000. There's a new one,
originated in November 2000, called the Navidad.exe virus. It has
characteristics of the worm as well, because it mails itself to all the people
in your address book automatically when it infects your computer.
Spreading all the bad news! This one is particularly nasty because it
attacks all the EXE files on your computer, and this renders all you programs
totally useless. You cannot get any program to work! That can
be a huge disaster on anyone's computer that is using important programs like QuickBooks,
Quicken, business software, Genealogy programs, email addresses/ favorites,
writing a book, doing your homework, and it goes on and on. The fact is
EVERYONE has information that they cannot afford to lose! Think of all the
work!
Notice how these viruses all appear to have really cute names
(except for Kak) that's a part of the plan. And the idea that if you
don't open email from someone you don't know isn't effective anymore, because of
the way these viruses attach themselves to all the people in their address
book. Another method that some people have adopted to protect themselves
is not to open attachments; that can help, but even that is becoming
ineffective. Many viruses are spreading by just opening an email
letter.
Now that you have some first hand knowledge and some of the
gruesome details, let's get busy! I'm sure many of you have heard the saying,
"Your best defense is a good offense". Well, that's what this
edition is all about. There are steps that you should take to insure your
computer is protected against ATTACK. I know this sounds like war, and it
is. It's more like Desert Storm, though, much more calculated.
Here are the steps you need to take to ARM YOURSELF AGAINST
VIRUSES:
1. KILL VIRUSES BEFORE THEY INFECT YOUR SYSTEM!
Install an antivirus program and UPDATE IT OFTEN. I can't tell you how
many computers I work on that the antivirus software has never been
updated. You are eligible for at least a year of FREE UPDATING via the
Internet after you install the initial program. I prefer Norton
Antivirus software because it is very thorough and very easy to
update. You just click on Live Update, and you will be reminded many
times to do so. It has Email protection! You can even send a
virus to Norton to dispose of, and they will communicate with you about the
virus and possible antidotes and actions for infections. Listen
up, here! 10-12 viruses are created each day and sent out into the
email world! If you don't update the virus definitions at least once a
week, your antivirus software cannot recognize the new viruses, and you WILL
NOT BE PROTECTED. Take this seriously, and save yourself a lot of
grief.
2. Be cautious about macros. Safeguard your
computer by enabling macro security options in your software programs, for
example Microsoft Word:
Select "Tools", "Macro",
"Security", and be sure to choose High or Medium for the security
level (it may already be set there).
3. Don't open attachments from people you don't know,
and be cautious about attachments from people you do know. Be especially
wary of files that have a .vbs extension (example: loveletter.vbs) If you
are responsible for a Network of computers, be wary of .vbs and .exe
extensions.
4. Be prepared for an attack! Back up your
important stuff! Get in the habit of having that formatted floppy or
zip disk, or cd-rom ready to save your information on your Quickbooks
program, your Genealogy program, your email addresses and favorites that you
worked so hard to accumulate. Regular backups are essential in case
your precautions fail and a virus does sneak in.
Now, I hope that you will print this out and keep it by
your computer for a while to remind you of these 4 things to do. If you
will, you'll be much better off than the average email/Internet user. I'm
not trying to scare you, just inform you. The viruses of the future will
probably get worse, but you will be able to manage your computer and your life
if you prepare.
Bottom line, stay prepared for the worst, and email with a
smile. :) Don't let the bad guys take away your fun!
Just ARM YOURSELF AGAINST THEM!
Talk to you again soon. If any of you need help with
saving and backing up your stuff, email me with your questions, and I will guide
you through it. If you need help with updating your antivirus software,
let me know. I'll be happy to help you, and you will feel better knowing
that you are actively fighting back!
Hope you all have a wonderful holidays! Hope these have
been helpful hints for all of you.
Remember that I will have all these monthly issues
of my newsletter available at my websites:
http://www.rockyreport.com
And
http://www.internetguideandmore.com
Thanks for reading! See you next month!
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TELL A FRIEND! THANKS!
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Merry
Christmas, Everybody!