A computer virus
is a program and not a microorganism, but it is infectious and
can be highly complex. Viruses implant instructions in other programs
or storage devices that can attack, scramble, or erase computer
data.
The virulence of computer viruses lies in their
ability to replicate themselves and spread from system to system.
Few computing systems seem to be immune to infection.If your computer
begins to do things out of the ordinary, or if it stops being
able to do things it has always done in the past, it may be infected
by a virus. It is important, though, to distinguish between virus
symptoms and those that come from corrupted system files, which
can look very similar. Remain calm and objective, and rule out
more standard causes before suspecting a virus. Prevention is
a matter of vigilance and avoiding contact with unknown disks.
It is usually the unwary who get computer viruses.
High-risk behaviors
The following activities are among the most common ways of getting
computer viruses. Minimizing the frequency of these activities
will reduce your risk of getting a computer virus:
- Freely sharing computer programs and system disks
- Downloading executable software from public-access bulletin
boards
- Using your personal disk space (floppy disks, etc.) with
public computers or other microcomputers that are used by
more than one person
- Opening e-mail attachments without first scanning them
for viruses.
- Opening any e-mail attachment that ends in .exe, .vbs,
or .lnk on a computer running Microsoft Windows
- Install virus detection software on your computer. There
are two general functions that anti-virus programs perform:
scanning for and removing viruses in files on disks, and monitoring
the operation of your computer for virus-like activity (either
known actions of specific viruses or general suspicious activity).
Most anti-virus packages contain routines that can perform
each kind of task. One good virus protection software package
is Norton Anti-Virus for PC-compatible and Mac OS computers.
- Back up your files. Viruses are one more very good reason
to always back up your files. Note: If you back up a file
that is already infected with a virus, you can re-infect your
system by restoring files from the backup copies. Check your
backup files with virus scanning software before using them.
- Keep your original application and system disks locked (or
write-protected). This will prevent the virus from spreading
to your original disks. If you must insert one of your application
disks into an unknown machine, lock (write-protect) it first,
and unlock your application disk only after verifying that
the machine is virus-free.
- Obtain public-domain software from reputable sources. Check
newly downloaded software thoroughly using reputable virus
detection software on a locked floppy disk for any signs of
infection before you copy it to a hard disk. This can also
help protect you from Trojan Horse programs.
- Quarantine infected systems. If you discover that a system
is infected with a virus, immediately isolate it from other
systems. In other words, disconnect it from any network it
is on and don't allow anyone to move files from it to another
system. Once the system has been disinfected, you can copy
or move files
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