Computer viruses are among the potentially most dangerous threats in today's society. With computers being used in almost every major establishment in the world, the scope of damage a virus can do is unimaginable. Remember the infamous Melissa and the "I Love You Virus?" Well that virus has caused company software to crash and personal information of the people who got it deleted. Viruses can do something like that, and most of time, people are not aware of its presence. Though some do not really destroy data, most of them are annoying and cause difficulty with handling a certain computer program.
There are different kinds of viruses that people should be in the lookout for. Being familiar with them is probably the first thing to do to get rid of them. Just as with the viruses in our body, preventing the spread of a certain virus is the safest way to ensure the proper running of computer software. Knowing how these viruses strike is important, so that one would be able to prevent it from spreading.
E-mail virus is a kind of virus that passes and moves about through the Internet, specifically through e-mail messages. This kind of virus is able to replicate automatically and this is done by mailing it to the e-mail addresses written in the computer's address books. The prime sample of this pets is the I Love You Bug in May 2000. This virus was sent through the Internet, where people got messages with a subject of "I Love You," prompting people to open it and allow the virus to access their computer system. Once inside the computer, this bug corrupts the files and sends relevant information like passwords, back to the perpetrator. Then, by accessing the system's address book, this smart virus is able to send itself to everyone listed there. Naturally, anyone who gets a message from their friend or loved one with the words "I Love You" in it will automatically open the message, thus repeating the cycle again. Many companies and services were also forced to close as with the "I Love You" virus made their computer systems deal with considerable damages.
A Computer worm is another self-replicating virus that hits security holes and computer networks. Using the network, this virus sends its replicated copies to other computers without the need of an Internet connection. Generally, the worm virus harms a network and consumes the bandwidth unlike viruses, which infects and corrupts computer files. There are also different kinds of worms, and these are the E-mail Worms, Instant Messaging Worms, IRC Worms, File-Sharing Network Worms, and the Internet Worms.
E-mail Worms are spread through email messages and attachments. More often, the worm arrives through e-mail, wherein the message or the attachment is infected with the worm's code, however it could also link to an external website via a code. Most of the email systems today requires one to open attachments to release the said worm. After being activated, the said worm will now be able to send its replication into other computer systems using either the email systems like the MS Outlook , or through SMTP. The addresses where it is sent is from the systems infected previously
The Instant Messaging Worms is spread throughout the applications of instant messaging. The infected links to these infected sites are then sent to everyone whose names appear in the contact list. Code Red and Nimda are only two examples of the Instant Messaging Worms.
IRC Worms go after chat channels and they infect systems in a way that is similar with E-mail Worms, where the infected links are also sent to addresses listed in a corrupted computer. However, a file infected with the IRC worm becomes less effective if the message's recipient fails to send a confirmation, save the fail, and then opening it.
The File-sharing Networks Worm is a virus that makes replications of itself into one shared folder that is often found in the local computer. The worm then places a replication of itself into another shared folder that has an unassuming and harmless name. After that, the said worm is now ready to be downloaded through the P2P network, making the spread of this infected file continue.
The last kind of worm is the Internet Worm. This targets the ports of low level TCP/IP directly, instead of going through higher level protocols like email or the IRC. One example is the "Blaster" that exploited a weakness in RPC of Microsoft. An infected computer scans both the local networks and public Internet to attempt exploiting against port 135 that is able to spread the said worm to another computer.
The third and final type of computer virus is the Trojan horse. This deadly virus is a sneaky program that disguises itself as a part of the software itself. Based from the mythology of the Greeks, this virus is aptly named after the wooden mechanism invented by Odysseus during the Trojan war and has two varieties. The first is an originally useful software corrupted by someone who inserted a code that turns the virus lose when someone uses the said program. These are seen in software that sets computer clocks and other utilities that share files. The second is actually a stand alone program that tricks users into accepting it because it resembles an image or game file. However, once this is used, the virus is then transferred into the whole computer system.
Unlike other viruses, the Trojan Horse cannot spread into one's computer unless it is brought into the computer by the user. Every time it is applied or run, the effect and virulence of the virus will depend on how it is implemented.
Viruses may be very deadly, but stopping them before they strike is probably a good way to counter them. Therefore, people should be very careful when dealing with messages they get online, or be careful of the discs they use. A computer should have a program for virus scan and clean up installed, so the chances of getting a virus will be minimal.
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