If you've been using a computer, you must have heard of those little programs called viruses. It's sad, but nowadays the safest way to keep your machine safe from these things is to make sure you have a working antivirus program, and be familiar with how to keep it updated.
The images below show some of the components of the NOD32 antivirus program, which I have been using since 2003. Click on the images below for a larger view.
Update
Scan
Stop
scan Recommended Actions
Recommended Setup
One of the most devious ways that virus creators get their little monsters into people's computers is by making an attachment that, when opened, goes digging through the person's address book. After it takes all the addresses, it can try to snatch a file off of the infected computer and send it to someone in the address book. That way, the receiver sees that the e-mail is from someone they know and are much more likely to open it up. Beware of this tactic as it is very successful for spreading viruses among an uninformed populace of computer users.
If you have Norton Antivirus on your machine, here is a way to be safe: Obviously, make sure that the virus definitions are dated from the same week, (or preferably the same day) that you receive the attachment.
For Outlook Express users, when you have an attachment and you want to be extra sure,
Click once on the gold paper clip thing to the top right of the message to get this option. (I used a text file I had laying around.)
After you click on the clip you should get an option like this.
Click Save Attachments, then pick a location. My Documents is usually a good spot, but I used a different location for mine. As with any file, be sure you know where you're putting it so that you don't have to go hunting for it later.
When you locate the file, right click on it. You might not have as many options on your machine as I do, but the important one says Scan with Norton Antivirus. Left-click once on it.
If you keep your Norton software updated to be protected from the latest round of viruses, and you get this message, then you're safe to open the file.
Check back here for virus updates. But if you have Norton Antivirus or Nod32 (which we highly recommend) keep it set to check for updates every time you get online, and keep abreast of the latest news on rampant viruses. We are not staffed to give detailed explanations or write articles on the more than 62,000 types of viruses out there. That's the job of companies like Symantec. There you can find the most up to date information available on a particular type of virus.
We discovered this one on 8/7/2001, and here is the Symantec information regarding this virus.
Download this file then double click on it to fix another nasty virus called SirCam that has been spreading since approximately July 25, 2001.
If you have trouble downloading that version, click here. You'll need to know how to use Winzip or WinAce (my personal favorite archiving utility) in order to open the archive. A tutorial on using WinAce is available here.
You can find out more about this virus by clicking on this link. http://www.datafellows.com/v-descs/sircam.shtml
It is important to realize that when a virus of this type is rampaging across millions of machines throught the Continental U.S. and possibly the world, e-mail service will not function normally or as efficiently as you expect it to until the virus has been brought under control. It is a sad fact, but one we must deal with in cyberspace.
For those of you having trouble with your McAfee updates, go to McAfee Updates, and when you get there, click on
Update Active Shield.
Any one of you that has been using the internet computing for 3 or more months have probably heard of those things called viruses. If you don't really understand the mechanics behind it, think of it this way; In our society we have individuals who are just plain destructive. The ones who don't actually go out and kill people might be content to smash things up (vandalism.) Just like a pyromaniac loves to set things on fire just to watch it burn. Well, the computer world is no different. The thing is, a high-tech vandal (usually called a hacker, although not all hackers are true vandals) goes about things a bit differently. A lot of them llike to write programs that do bad things to a computer, without having to actually be there at your computer. A guy who wants to cause major havoc with other people may only get his supreme satisfaction by hearing about his exploits in the news. Take the Melissa and Snow White viruses with all the press they got. Sort of a weird pseudo-fame thing, where the guy goes "Yessss, I did that and nobody will ever know, mua haa haa haaa." unless, of course he goes around bragging about it to his hacker friends. The thing is, you can't assume that you'll never get a virus on your machine, because even sometimes, very rarely they can slip in through a major corporations' product. I bought a game one time, that, if you used the electronic registration that came with it, the thing would surreptitiously stick a virus on your machine. Luckily, it was not a bad one, but still, it felt kind of weird to get one that way.
Of course, by now many of you know that one of the favorite and most efficient methods of spreading the mess around is by making an attachment and sending it out via e-mail, where it's pretty much guaranteed that enough people's curiousity will force them to open the thing, thereby making the embedded program attach itself to more e-mails, spread throughout the country or world and causing millions or billions of dollars in damage due to lost time, repair costs, and so on. So it can't be stressed enough, if you don't know who the e-mail is from, there is a chance it has a virus in it.
Usually, only agencies like the NSA or FBI or other specialty groups have the time or resources to actually track down the original sender, like that guy in the Philippines, who couldn't be prosecuted because there were no laws in place for that offense where he lived.
Being knowledgeable enough to actually buy Antivirus software (my personal favorite for a while was Norton's Antivirus) and knowing how to keep it updated can give you peace of mind for your pet machine not getting sick. And just buying a CD, sticking it in, and doing a few mouse clicks is not enough. Most antivirus software is designed to work for a year, then after that, you are expected to renew your subscription. Updates must be done during that time, or there would be no point in having the software installed, because new viruses are being created every day. If you don't do it now, you'll pay for it later.
Here is a good link for information pertaining to viruses and such. Datafellows
Article Copyright 2001 Zalmegra Studios