Instant Expert: Computer Viruses

—Instant Expert: Computer Viruses—

Any computer connected to the internet faces a daunting range of electronic threats. Perhaps the biggest single threat to any computer is the humble software bug. Seemingly innocuous programming errors can be exploited to force entry into a computer and also provide the weak spots that allow computer worms and viruses to proliferate.

Many software bugs will simply cause a computer to crash. But an expert programmer can sometimes figure out how to make a computer malfunction in a creative way, so that it provides access to secure parts of a system, or shares protected data.

When a software vulnerability is revealed, it is often a race against the clock to apply the correct software patch before an attacker can convert the bug into an “exploit” that can be used to cause major damage.

Viruses and worms

A computer virus is a program that spreads between computers by hiding itself within a - seemingly innocent - document or application. A worm, on the other hand, is a program that replicates and travels without “infecting” anything else on a system.

Many modern specimens of malevolent code, however, use a mixture of tricks to cheat their way onto computer systems, blurring the line between worms and viruses. The terms are now often used interchangeably.

The first worms appeared in the 1970s and spread slowly between computers connected to the same network. They simply displayed an annoying message on the screen of each infected machine. The first computer virus, called Elk Cloner, was written in 1982 and infected computers via floppy disks. (more…)

“It turns out that your computer keyboard could put a host of potentially harmful bacteria — including E. coli and staph — quite literally at your fingertips.

Sure, it may sound like a hypochondriac’s excuse to stay away from the office. But a growing body of research suggests that computer mice and keyboards are, in fact, prime real estate for germs.

It’s a phenomenon most recently illustrated by tests at a typical office environment in the United Kingdom. A consumer advocacy group commissioned the tests in which British microbiologist James Francis took a swab to 33 keyboards, a toilet seat and a toilet door handle at the publication’s London office in January.

Francis then tested the swabs to see what nasty germs he managed to pick up. He found that four of the keyboards tested were potential health hazards — and one had levels of germs five times higher than that found on the toilet seat.

While the results of this simple test cannot necessarily be applied to the rest of the computer keyboards in the United Kingdom — or in this country, for that matter — the findings are in line with a considerable body of research suggesting that our daily routines put us in near constant contact with potentially dangerous germs. (more…)

Consider this: Before students attend school they must be immunized against several diseases that they could otherwise contract from other students. Likewise, before computers are connected to a network they must be immunized against computer viruses, spyware, and adware that can infect other computers.

College Computers

Desktop computers are configured by the Information Technology Services (ITS) Department to be protected against computer viruses, spyware, and adware. It’s strongly advised to avoid downloading inoffensive looking programs from the internet. Many of these programs are bundled with computer viruses, spyware, and/or malware. Please be aware that if your computer becomes infected, ITS will have to quarantine and service the desktop computer. You may be left with out a computer for a few days as we attempt to disinfect it. (more…)

Facts and Myths about Computer Viruses
—Technology Training Center—

When dealing with computer viruses, it’s important to remember that they are software. That means:

• Viruses can do anything other software can do:
• Viruses can delete files.
• Viruses can format hard drives or scramble the data on them.
• Viruses could (in theory) communicate over a network.
• Viruses cannot do anything impossible for other software
• Viruses cannot damage your CPU.
• Viruses cannot physically destroy your hard disk, although they can scramble the data on them.
• Viruses cannot destroy your computer’s RAM.
• Viruses cannot cause your computer system to explode.

People intentionally write computer viruses, they do not appear spontaneously. They are not accidental mutations of “normal” software. (more…)

“Lifting the lid on computer filth”
BBC NEWS, 3/12/04

“Office workers are exposed to more germs from their phones and keyboards than toilet seats, scientists reveal.

Work stations contain nearly 400 times as many microbes than lavatories, it is claimed.

Office equipment should be regularly disinfected to prevent the spread of viruses and bacteria responsible for disease.

The reality of our grubby working environments is exposed in a study by the University of Arizona.

A desk is capable of supporting 10 million microbes and the average office contains 20,961 microbes per square inch, according to research.

Desks are really bacteria cafeterias
Charles Gerba, microbiologist

The key offenders are telephones, which harbour up to 25,127 microbes per square inch, keyboards 3,295 and computer mice 1,676.

By contrast, the average toilet seat contains 49 microbes per square inch, the survey showed. (more…)