 Staying Healthy: Avoiding Those Viruses

NOTE: This article was originally written for Windows users on JabComputer. Macs are less susceptible to viruses and thus most of these you don't have to worry about.

A virus infects a living organism and then makes copies of itself, thus spreading throughout the body. Some can be cured easily while others can make you very ill. If not treated properly, some can be quite deadly. You can prevent viruses by avoiding contagious individuals as well as unhealthy or unsanitary conditions. You also have a less likely chance of catching a virus if you have a healthy and strong immune system.

Note that I am not here to give you a health lesson, but biological viruses are very similar to computer viruses.

In short, viruses are a type of software that infects a computer. But how do these viruses arise?

People are the main source. Programming geniuses who use their powers for evil and not good...
They make viruses for:
-Fun (they take pleasure out of corrupting other peoples' computers)
-Money (some people pay others to make and distribute viruses for disruptive or destructive purposes)
-Experiments (some people test viruses to see how infectious they are and which anti-virus programs can stop them)
-Accidents (Whoops! Instead of creating a man you created a monster! Viruses can sometimes be a result of miscalculations and computer-generated errors)

There are many different types of viruses, some more deadly than others. Take a look at my ranking system:

Rank #1. Low Risk - Viruses that are just annoying and potentially harmless, may slow down your computer. Choosing to keep this type of virus on your computer is like choosing to stay with a cold. If you don't mind living with a stuffy and runny nose, an irritated throat, and a headache from time to time, then you'll be fine.

Rank #2. Medium Risk - Viruses that are annoying (although all viruses are annoying) and can be harmful if not treated. Will most likely slow down your computer, decrease efficiency; may corrupt your computer in extreme cases. Choosing to keep this type is like choosing to stay with cancer or perhaps a benign tumor that might develop into something serious. If death (that could've been prevented) don't scare you, then relax.

Rank #3. High Risk - Viruses that are extremely annoying and are harmful to your computer. Might slow down computer, bring certain processes to a halt, decrease efficiency, may erase files, and most likely will corrupt your computer if not treated. Do not choose to keep this type unless you don't mind paying for a new body, if you know what I mean...

Rank #4. Extreme Caution - Viruses that are so malicious that they are more scary than they are annoying. These viruses aim at corrupting your computer and erasing your programs, files, and data. They might come fast and without notice. Some viruses, if not detected early (like cancer), will be spreading so fast that it is virtually impossible to get rid of them. Finding out that you have this type of computer virus may be like finding out that you're going to die in 3 months!


Now that you are familiar will my ranking system, let's take a look at the common types of viruses (rated with my ranking system!):

Resident Virus
Rank: #3 - #4
Location: RAM memory.
Attack Strategy: when you open the infected program or application, the virus is released and burrows into your RAM data. Now, whenever you rename, save, copy, open a file or program, the resident virus will move in, attack and corrupt all these operations.
How To Stop It: Well, sometimes it's permanent and can't be stopped. Other times anti-virus programs will detect it and stop it from spreading. Reformatting the hard drive (erasing ALL the data) will most likely be the cure. Note that backing-up infected files on a separate hard drive will then re-infect your computer when you transfer those infected files back.

Direct-Action Virus
Rank: #3 -#4
Location: Specified program
Attack Strategy: similar to resident viruses, but the difference is that the virus infects one or programs when the original program that contains it was executed.
How To Stop It: Well, sometimes it's permanent and can't be stopped. Other times anti-virus programs will detect it and stop it from spreading. Reformatting the hard drive (erasing ALL the data) will most likely be the cure. Note that backing-up infected files on a separate hard drive will then re-infect your computer when you transfer those infected files back.

Overwrite Virus
Rank: #3
Location: Files
Attack Strategy: infected files are corrupted, deleted, or partially rendered so they are not openable or usable.
How To Stop It: to clean an infected file you must erase it, so when a file is infected it is pretty much gone...

Boot Virus
Rank: #4
Location: Boot sector of a hard drive or floppy disk
Attack Strategy: the virus will infect the boot sector of the disk, which is critical to storing information and thus booting, or starting, the computer
How To Stop It: Once you're infected you must reformat the hard drive (or buy a new one). Boot viruses are most commonly spread through floppy disks! Therefore, never start your computer with an unknown floppy disk in the drive.

Macro Virus
Rank: #2, #3
Location: Macro-containing program
Attack Strategy: A macro is a single instruction that expands automatically when executed. Many programs contain macros, such as the commonly used Microsoft Word and Excel. Macro viruses take advantage of this "expanding" feature by infecting a macro in one program. When the macro is executed, it expands and can reach the "global macro template". When this is infected, then any other file you open will then become infected, thus spreading the virus.
How To Sop It: Anti-virus software may detect it, and don't enable macros unless you're sure that you can trust them!

Directory Virus
Rank: #3, #4
Location: Program File
Attack Strategy: when the infected program is executed (mainly through the .exe extension), the virus changes the path on which the program is set to run. Therefore, you are indirectly running the virus by running the infected program.
How To Stop It: Once a file is infected it is impossible to locate the original program files. Prevent directory viruses by not downloading or somehow obtaining infected program files.

Polymorphic Virus
Rank: #3, #4
Location: Multiple
Attack Strategy: this virus makes varied copies of itself, in which each copy is different from the other, although they all serve the same function. They do this to disguise themselves and prevent virus scanners from detecting all instances of the virus.
How To Stop It: Since this type of virus is very hard to detect, it is very hard to stop completely. Reformatting or replacing the hard drive is recommended (although your computer will probably crash before you even notice it is a complete polymorphic virus, to which you will be forced to reformat or replace).

Virus Hoax
Rank: #1
Location: Emails
Attack Strategy: Virus hoaxes aren't considered to be real viruses. They are not harmful to your computer (they are more harmful to your sanity). A virus hoax is just a pesky email that informs you on a deadly virus that doesn't even exist. Below is an example of what a virus hoax might look like:

Subject: Beware of the LooBaba Virus!
Message: As of February 18, 2007, the dangerous and highly infectious LooBaba virus has been released. Do NOT open any email with subject lines "An Invitation From a Friend!", "Nuclear Missile is Destroyed", or "Mars is Suffering From Momentary and Deadly Collapse".
If you open the email, a picture of a worm eating files will signify him eating your documents!!!

Forward this message to all the people you know!!!!

What a bunch of crap. Sure, viruses are spread through emails, but only through downloaded attachments. Of course, you should never download an unknown attachment. Note that while most virus hoaxes are meant just for aggravating people, they can be potentially dangerous. For example, a virus programmer could be purposely sending the LooBaba hoax. People who know about virus hoaxes will then assume that the LooBaba virus is madeup. However, then the virus programmer will actually create the LooBaba virus, and since people think it doesn't exist, they will not take any caution. This sends a wave of confusion and panic. Is there really such thing as the LooBaba virus or is it just a hoax? Thus brings the annoyance of virus hoaxes!

How To Stop It: How do you determine whether an email is a virus hoax? The things to look for in a virus hoax have been highlighted in light blue in the LooBaba example above.
-The email informs you about the virus very seriously and scares you silly
-The email tells you not to open any emails or download any attachments with gripping subject lines
-The email usually tells you that the virus contains a little graphic image
-The email asks you to forward the message to all people you know (thus the "virus" hoax spreads...)
If you do receive a hoax, then ignore and delete it. Do not forward it to other people!

To find more information on viruses and emails, check out the entry "Email: Info, Help, & Tips"

Worms

Worms are similar to viruses in the sense that they are able to replicate and spread throughout the system and to other computers; the only difference is that they do not need to attach themselves to a host program. Many worms can be detected by anti-virus programs.

Trojan Horse

Remember the siege of Troy? The Greeks presented a hollow wooden horse to the Trojans as a harmless gift. Little did the Trojans know that the horse was filled with Greek soldiers that would the open the city gates at nightfall and let the waiting Greek army storm in. Computer Trojan Horses appear harmless to you and the computer at first, but once it's inside the city gates, your infected. Anti-virus software will usually detect Trojans, although they might not identify them immediately as Trojans. Note that some Trojans can sneak past some Anti-virus software, as they seem might seem "too small" to notice...

It is important to have a strong immune system as it is equally important to have strong virus protection.

Remember these words of inspiration if ever infected by any of these viruses:
"The Virus is strong, but you are stronger. Do not let The Virus conquer you; conquer The Virus!"