Viruses....
We are sure that everyone at one point or another in their lives has come across a virus, whether it be on your computer or someone else's. No matter if it is from opening an attachment off of an email, installing some program from the Internet, or even if it's something that someone else put on your computer (*cough* co-workers, roommates, friends, kids, siblings...but that's for another time!), viruses are rampant all over the Internet.
But what is a computer virus anyways? Obviously, we all know they are bad things to have on your computer, but what makes a virus a virus and not something else? Well, the most fundamental characteristic (besides it doing evil things to your computer) of a virus is that it is user propagated, meaning that a user has to activate it. Just like with biological viruses, if a virus can't find a host that reacts to it, it's doomed... and we like that!
So, the next question would be what kinds of repercussions can a virus have on your computer? Well, this is very difficult to answer. In truth, it all depends on how smart the virus programmer is. We've seen damage potential range from being really mischievous by randomly assigning letters to your keyboard (for example, if you typed a "k" on your keyboard, your screen would have typed an "r", or a "d", or whatever it felt like displaying on your screen... you just won't get that "k" you wanted) to absolutely catastrophic by deleting all of the contents off of your hard drive! Anything is fair game.
Viruses sound scary, we know. But there is some light at the end of the tunnel. Companies and people that develop anti-virus programs are very smart, and they have developed extremely sophisticated technologies that will allow you to fight back. Not only are databases continuously updated 24/7 to protect your computer from the most recent viruses, but the majority of anti-virus programs actually have a form of artificial intelligence. Through a process called "heuristics", anti-virus programs can actually protect your computer just by analyzing how a virus behaves on your computer, even if the virus isn't in a database of any sort! Pretty nifty stuff!
Here's some more good news: protecting yourself from viruses, Trojans, worms, rootkits and even some spyware and adware all require the same steps! Talk about getting two birds with one stone!
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Keep your computer up-to-date with the latest patches: We know this sounds obvious but, we are still amazed at the number of machines we deal with that don't have the most recent patches on them. These patches seal up security holes that viruses take advantage of, so it's in your best interest to stay as recent as possible with patches. Not sure if you have the most up-to-date patches? Have a look at Microsoft's website and click on the Microsoft Update link on the left-hand menu. You also have the option of having critical patches automatically update your machine when available. To set this option, do the following:
- Click Start, then My Computer
- Under the Other Places menu to the left, click Control Panel
- If you are in Category View, click Security Center and click on the Automatic Updates section at the bottom of the new window that opened. In the new window that opened, make sure the Automatic (recommended) is selected.
- If you are in Classic View, click System. When the new window opens, click the Automatic Updates tab and make sure the Automatic (recommended) is selected.
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Have anti-virus software installed and up-to-date: Honestly, anti-virus software is pretty much useless if you don't keep its virus definitions up-to-date.
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Be smart in the websites you choose to visit: There are a lot of bad websites out there that actually have viruses programmed right into the website. Through a process called malicious scripting, viruses can be installed onto your computer just by visiting a website. Websites that have been known to use malicious scripting are those dedicated to various forms of warez (illegal downloads) and pornography.
- Use extreme caution when opening emails from unknown users: Viruses have been know to have a reputation of trying to spread through email. Always use anti-virus tools to scan emails for worms. Even if the email looks like it came from someone you know, it never hurts to scan it for viruses.
Make sure your computer is properly protected with our fantastic tools.
