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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.
Of course, a virus might have sneaked in before you became virus prevention savvy. Potential warning signs include:
Helpful Web Sites and Phone Numbers
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Troubleshooting.... The Spyware Battle Rages On (March, 2006) Conducting a Technology Self Audit (November, 2005) Defending Systems and Managing Risk (December, 2003) Six Weeks to a Sleeker CBO - A Tech Planning Timeline (June, 2002) Die Virus! Die! (December, 2001) The Rebuilding Begins: NYC's Technology Assistance Providers Rally for Nonprofits (November, 2001) Plugging Back In (November, 2001) FATAL ERROR: Where Did I Go Wrong and What Can I Do Now? (April, 2001) Technology Technical Assistance: Why Use It, How to Manage It (May, 2000) If Your Computer is Looking a Little Green Around the Ears, it Might be a Virus (June, 1999) Other Articles of Interest.... The Pros and Cons of ASPs (October, 2001) A Case Management System Case Study: Providence House (January, 2001) Paving the Way to the Future: DYCD's Comprehensive Contract Management System (January, 2001) TechSoup - Free Lunch for Tech-Hungry Nonprofits (July, 2000) Planning for Success: A Practical Approach to Technology (March, 2000) |
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