 Viruses
(a.k.a. Worms, Trojans)
anti-virus software
Definition:
In computer security technology, a computer virus is a self-replicating or self-reproducing-automation
computer program that spreads by inserting copies of itself into other executable
code or documents. A computer virus behaves in a way similar to a biological virus,
which spreads by inserting itself into living cells. Extending the analogy, the
insertion of a virus into the program is termed as an "infection", and the infected
file, or executable code that is not part of a file, is called a "host". Viruses
are one of the several types of malicious software or malware. In a common parlance,
the term virus is often extended to refer to worms, trojan horses and other sorts
of malware; however, this can confuse computer users, since viruses in the narrow
sense of the word are less common than they used to be, compared to other forms
of malware. This confusion can have serious consequences, because it may lead to
a focus on preventing one genre of malware over another, potentially leaving computers
vulnerable to future damage. However, a basic rule is that computer viruses cannot
directly damage hardware, but only software.
While viruses can be intentionally destructive, for example, by destroying data,
many other viruses are fairly benign or merely annoying. Some viruses have a delayed
payload, which is sometimes called a bomb. For example, a virus might display
a message on a specific day or wait until it has infected a certain number of hosts.
A time bomb occurs during a particular date or time, and a logic bomb
occurs when the user of a computer takes an action that triggers the bomb. However,
the predominant negative effect of viruses is their uncontrolled self-reproduction,
which wastes or overwhelms computer resources. (src: Wikipedia)
Where do they come from?
By far the most common source of a virus on your home PC will be via email. One
of the main methods viruses travel is by cloning themselves. Often the first thing
a virus will do upon arriving on a machine will be to collect information from your
email address book and send itself to everyone in there. This way it can spread
itself before you even realise it is there. Many modern viruses come with
their own in-built email server software, measning that it can 'stealthily' send
itself. Depending on it's programming it may then start infecting other files on
your machine, slowing your PC down sometimes to the point where it is unusable.
Another common source for both viruses and
spyware
spyware is through the ever more popular File Sharing or P2P programs. One of the
biggest culprits being kazaar. People may download a file that appers to be a song
(mp3), video file (avi) or image (jpg) but is actually a virus that has been renamed
to fool people.
The other fairly common method of becomming infected is through network file
sharing. Windows users usually log into their machines with administrator privaledges,
this includes rights to access any other PCs filesystem on the same network, more
common within companies this is now becomming more common in the home with the advent
of cheap wireless home networks and households having more than one PC. In this
case a virus will copy itself onto a network share and then infect the other machinee
there.
How to prevent them:
 As
stated earlier email is by far the biggest culprit for machines becomming infected.
It goes without saying that you should be very wary of any emails that arrive from
someone you don't know. Especially if it contains a file of any description. Usually
it is best to delete these mails unless you are specifically expected to receive
it. Often however an infected mail will come in from someone you do know (as a result
of the virus getting your email address from their address book). Therefore it is
always prudent when there is a file included in the mail to check it's file type.
You should neer open any files that have the following extensions, .exe, .bat. .ini.
That is not to say that other are safe but these are particularly common amongst
viruses.
By far the best way to clean existing viruses and prevent new ones is to keep windows
up to date with securiy updates and install antivirus software:
You can also find links to many other anti-virus programs www.filehippo.com. If all of this is giving you
a headache or you plain can't be bothered there is always the easiest and 'most
guaranteed to work' solution:
Net Neighbourhood
has vast experience and specialises in the removal of viruses and their associated
issues.
Most of the time we can remove them on site in only a couple of hours (depending
on the speed of the machine) or, if more drastic action is required, we will bring
the PC to our office, backup
all your data and restore your machine to it's former glory. If you wish we we can
also
upgrade
your machine at the same time.
The other advantage of getting Net Neghbourhood in is that we will also remove any
spyware
you may have, install all the latest security patches and update/install anti-spyware
and anti-virus software. We will also go through how to scan for these things in
the future on your own.
Contact us here
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