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VIRUSES
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| Q: What is a virus? |
| Q: How do viruses work? How do they spread? |
| Q: Why do I need to constantly update my Anti-Virus
product? |
| Q: What is a Trojan horse? |
| Q: Why didn't my Anti-Virus detect the Trojan horse? |
| Q: How can I tell if I have a virus? |
| Q: Virus? Worm? Trojan? Malware? What's the
difference? |
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Q: What is a
virus?
A:
Viruses are programs that are created to automatically
spread from one computer to another via the Internet, e-mail, home networks,
corporate networks, disks or anything else that allows files to move from one PC
to another. Some viruses are only "proof of concepts" and do not cause any harm
other than generating a lot of Internet traffic. Other viruses are malicious and
can shut down your PC, erase your hard drive or even use your PC to perform a
denial of service (DoS) attack against a particular Website.
Like
biological viruses, there are millions of viruses "in the wild" on the Internet.
Most of them are easily contained and while some become household names and
stories on the nightly news, few people ever experience or hear about them.
Viruses have the potential to severely damage data on your PC and disrupt
Internet connectivity worldwide. Internet security firms such as F-Secure employ
round-the-clock antivirus teams to immediately investigate new threats and
quickly provide counter-measures to users of their software.
Viruses come
in many shapes and sizes, from parasitic viruses that attach themselves to files
and execute only when you open that file, to worms that automatically infect and
self-propagate, often using your own e-mail capabilities to send out copies of
it to everyone in your address book. The complexity and frequency of
viruses vary greatly and the world of viruses is constantly evolving, requiring
Anti-Virus companies to quickly adapt and react.
This is why COGECO
recommends that you install an Anti-Virus product on all of your PCs and that you
make sure you maintain your subscription so that your antivirus files are always
up-to-date. COGECO Security Services are provided free of charge to all
residential Standard and Pro High Speed Internet customers and at a very low
cost for residential Lite customers. Please go to www.cogeco.ca/security for more
information. If you are a Business customer and subscribing to one of our High
Speed Internet packages, it is free and you can visit www.cogeco.ca/bizsecurity
for more information.
For more detailed information, go to http://www.cert.org/other_sources/viruses.html to see CERT's
excellent explanation on viruses.
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Q:
How do viruses work? How do
they spread?
A:
As there are many different types of viruses it is
impossible to give a clear definition of the specific inner workings of any
virus. Most Internet security vendors such as F-Secure (the vendor powering
COGECO Security Services) offer in-depth analysis of individual
viruses.
For general virus information see http://www.f-secure.com/virus-info/
For Virus
descriptions see : http://www.f-secure.com/v-descs/
For news on current
virus outbreaks visit: http://www.f-secure.com/virus-info/virus-news/
Viruses
generally propagate via e-mail or exploitable network services. E-mail
propagation usually requires an individual to click on a link or attachment to
activate the virus whereas viruses that spread via network services can often
install themselves without user intervention. Having an unprotected or unpatched
operating system (ie: Windows XP, Windows 2000 , etc.) running on the
network puts it at risk.
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Q:
Why do I need to constantly
update my Anti-Virus product?
A:
Because new viruses are released on a daily basis, so it is necessary to
have an Anti-Virus product with the most up-to-date signatures to ensure your
system(s) benefits from the best possible protection. Most newer Anti-Virus
products often include automated update processes although you may have to
manually initiate these upgrades. Visit your Anti-Virus vendor's homepage for
more information. COGECO Security Services automatically checks for new updates
on an hourly basis.
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Q:
What is a Trojan
horse?
A:
Much like the Trojan horse in ancient Greek mythology, the
21st century version also masquerades as another program and once inside,
"drops" a malicious program or virus onto your system. Often these types of
programs also facilitate easy 'back-door' access to your PC and can allow
someone, such as a spammer, to use your PC for malicious purposes.
For
more information see Broadbandreports.com's excellent definition of Trojan
horses at http://www.broadbandreports.com/faq/531
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Q:
Why didn't my Anti-Virus
detect the Trojan horse?
A:
While many newer Anti-Virus programs include Trojan horse
signatures, not all Anti-Virus products are able to detect them Also, many Trojan
horses (such as Phatbot) have the ability to disable Anti-Virus programs
rendering them useless and exposing your system to attacks.
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Q:
How can I tell if I have a
virus?
A:
Although the best way to determine if your system is
compromised is to perform a full system scan with an updated virus scanner,
there are several signs you can look for that may act as an early warning system
to a compromise.
If you notice that:
- Your system randomly shuts down;
- Your system has an abnormally sluggish behavior;
- Your system is running unfamiliar applications or processes
in the background;
- You login(s) or password(s) no longer work(s);
- There is unexplained disk activity;
- Your mouse or sound behaves abnormally;
- Your CD, printer or other external devices behave abnormally
COGECO recommends that you immediately run a virus scanner.
COGECO provides a free online virus scanner
located at www.cogeco.ca/security that will detect
and remove any viruses from your PC. Click here to visit COGECO's Online Virus
Scanner, if you have not already installed COGECO's Security Services at www.cogeco.ca/security.
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Q:
Virus? Worm? Trojan?
Malware? What's the difference?
A:
A virus is a program that spreads from PC to PC by replicating itself
just like a biological virus. Similarly, it generally does some type of harm or
damage to its host (your PC), which can be as benign as a pop-up message or as
bad as erasing the content of your hard drive. Viruses are spread many different
ways including via e-mail or through open ports (doors) on your PC.
A
worm is much like
a virus however it doesn't necessarily do direct damage to your PC. Its main
purpose is to replicate itself. Often these worms propagate so quickly that they
can clog up network traffic and render your connection useless.
A
Trojan horse is a
program that appears to be a legitimate program, but in reality it has a secret
hidden "malicious" or virus-like program that can infect your PC and will often
allow others to gain access to your PC through a firewall.
Malware (or malicious software)
is a program or a file that is harmful to your PC. Malware can include viruses,
worms, Trojan horses and spyware or any such variations.
The writers of
malicious programs are becoming more advanced and the Internet is starting to be
a vehicle for more and more of what are known as "blended threats". Blended
threats attempt to use a variety of mechanisms, such as a worm to propagate
a Trojan horse, to thwart firewalls and antivirus programs in their continuing
efforts to outsmart antivirus and security companies.
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