If Your Computer Is Looking a Little Green Around The Ears, It Might Be a Virus

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If Your Computer Is Looking a Little Green Around The Ears, It Might Be a Virus
By Thomas Mulhern
Volunteer
Team TECH Americorps*VISTA

On March 26, 1999, newspaper coverage and television news reports sent every man, woman and child with a computer and an electronic address running to their e-mail accounts in search of an impending disaster called MELISSA. Actually, they went looking for an e-mail with a subject heading that read "very important message …." along with a Microsoft Word attachment that, when opened, essentially rendered the computer useless, but not before sending the message along to the next 50 people in your Microsoft Outlook address book (making you the most unpopular person among your friends). As we would all realize in the days that followed, MELISSA was simply the most recent entry in the scourge that is the computer virus.

Computer viruses are so abundant in number and varying in description that they are somewhat difficult to define. In that respect they're similar to bugs -- you don't know their names, but, wow, do those bites hurt! In an effort to bring some order to this confusion, viruses are broken into various categories. There are "logic bombs" which lie dormant until triggered by a particular event, such as a specific date, before making an entire disk unreadable. "Trojans," named after the Trojan horse in Greek mythology, are delivery vehicles which initially appear to be useful programs, but eventually attack the computer. "Worms" are self-reproducing programs that generate sufficient numbers of themselves to clog the computer; these are especially troublesome on network systems. And these are just a few examples.

In essence, a virus can be described as a destructive piece of software that spreads among programs and diskettes with the intent to alter your programs in some manner. The extent of this alteration varies. Viruses can proceed quickly and be extremely harmful or they may be quite subtle and go undetected for years before causing serious harm. Hence, our best defense against infection is prevention, prevention and prevention.

What Steps to Take

Do you remember how your dentist would remind you as a child to brush and floss regularly and to go easy on the sweets? The idea is that prevention was the soundest way to good dental hygiene. The same theory applies to proper computer maintenance and viruses. Here are some items to keep in mind.

Installing a commercial anti-virus program on your computer is the first and potentially most important step in safeguarding your computer. Anti-virus programs can be set to run system checks at every boot (each time you turn on the computer), daily or weekly. They can monitor programs on your hard drive as well as diskettes, and warn you if a command you just executed might "set off" a virus.
There are several different programs available nowadays including such notable names as McAfee, IBM and Symantec. However, it is important to note that, as reliable as these brands are, new viruses are continually popping up, therefore it is extremely important to keep your anti-virus programs updated. The majority of anti-virus programs allow you to download updates free of charge from their Web sites after your initial purchase.
Another factor in keeping your computer from harm's way is being very careful about what diskettes you put into it. How often do each of us simply pick up a disk that is laying around to save important work items? We don't know where it came from or what's on it, but we're in a hurry so we pop it in anyway. Take the time to find or purchase a disk that you know hasn't been used.
Also, before you put that disk in, even if it is right out of the box, remember to run it through that anti-virus program you purchased. Even a disk that is "new" could have a virus. Remember, it is always better to safe than sorry.

Warning Signs

Of course, a virus might have sneaked in before you became virus prevention savvy. Potential warning signs include:

Windows/programs take longer to load than normal
Windows crashes
Files continually are corrupted
Random files appear on your drive
Your hard drive keeps running out of space

These are but a few examples of what could possibly happen. If you do indeed have a virus, don't panic. There are many courses of action you can take. Your best option is to look for potential remedies at any of the Web sites below. One more thing: remember to always make back-up copies of all your files. If you put everything onto one disk, all of your work rides on the health of that disk. Don't put yourself or the disk under that kind of pressure.

Helpful Web Sites and Phone Numbers

www.ciac.org - provides updates on new computer viruses, hoaxes and tools to prevent them
www.avertlabs.com - posts virus alerts, virus information library and virus definitions; (408) 988-3832
www.symantec.com - posts latest updates on viruses, products and support offered; (877) 469-7467
www.gerlitz.com/virushoax/ - contains a great deal of information on what programs are hoaxes and what programs are really viruses
www.mcafee.com - posts virus alerts, a variety of software you can purchase and technical support; (650) 508-7890
www.ibm.com - posts alerts, information on IBM and Norton Anti-Virus programs as well as several articles concerning virus prevention and safety procedures to be practiced while on the Internet; 1-800-772-2227.

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