Email is a wonderful way to get business done and to stay
in touch. As you may know, it's also the main way virtual vandals do their damage. They
spread viruses, worms, Trojan horses and the like mostly via attachments to emails. These
malicious little programs can spread from user to user; often without the sender even
realizing it.
What is a Virus? A virus is a manmade program or piece of code that causes an
unexpected, usually negative, event. Viruses are often disguised games or images with
clever marketing titles such as "Me, nude."
What is a Worm? Computer Worms are viruses that reside in the active memory of a
computer and duplicate themselves. They may send copies of themselves to other computers,
such as through email or Internet Relay Chat (IRC).
What is a Trojan Horse? A Trojan horse program is a malicious program that pretends to be a
benign application; a Trojan horse program purposefully does something the user does not
expect. Trojans are not viruses since they do not replicate, but Trojan horse programs can
be just as destructive.
Many people use the term to refer only to non-replicating malicious programs, thus
making a distinction between Trojans and viruses.
Have more questions? Look up more definitions in [McAfee's] Virus Glossary.
Here are a few common sense things you can do to stay safe.
First, use a good virus detection & cleaning tool. I recommend you
purchase a general anti-virus program that scans your entire computer. The little you'll
spend now can save you from major or irreplaceable loss later. McAfee VirusScan and Norton Antivirus are the two industry
standards. Each offers regular updates to the virus definitions (DATS) used by their
scanning engine. DATS should be updated at least weekly, preferably daily.
Second, close your email PREVIEW window. Most viruses and the like are
embedded within your email. The preview window allows embedded viruses to execute before
you have a chance to stop them. Antiviral software is least helpful against these kind of
attacks.
Third, do not open unexpected attachments. Look first to see if it has
an attachment; this will be indicated by a small graphic. If the email has an attachment,
proceed with caution.
Look at the "FROM" line. Don't know who it's from? Don't open the email;
delete it. Even if you do know who it's from, be careful: many viruses spread by getting
legitimate addresses from unsuspecting recipient's address books and sending themselves
from that address. This is called spoofing. So if you weren't expecting an email with an
attachment from someone you know, confirm with them before you open. If you can't confirm,
delete it.
Now look at the "SUBJECT" line. Many email viruses get opened because the
subject line seems friendly or fun; "Cute picture" or "Fun game" or
even "Thought you might like this" sound innocent enough, but should be a tip
off. Again, delete if you don't know the sender. Confirm if you do.
Fourth, use a good firewall. Firewalls are a simple means of ensuring
that malicious hackers cannot dump a virus or worm on your computer through your internet
connection. Whenever you are connected to the internet, anyone anywhere can send you a
packet of information. Sometimes it is expected, like email; sometimes it is unexpected,
like spam; but sometimes it is malicious. A firewall blocks access to your computer. A
good FREE firewall is "Tiny Personal Firewall" available from Tucows.com. The file size is quite
small, and it doesn't interfere with legitimate computer processes. With Tiny, you can
easily define rules for permitting and denying access to your computer. Once it is
configured, you won't even know it is there.
Note:
a common mis-perception is that dial-up users do not require a
firewall because they are not online long enough. However, the ISP that you connect to has
a limited number of phone lines, each one assigned an IP address. A hacker can simply send
their virus to that IP address expecting that there will be a computer connected. 90% of
the time, there is.
Fifth, don't trust virus warnings. As if viruses and other malicious
computer code were not bad enough, now there are malicious hoaxes. Emails instructing you
to remove certain files from the Windows system directory to prevent or remove an
infection are always hoaxes. By removing these files you can cripple your computer. McAfee and Norton both maintain lists of hoaxes.
An authentic virus warning will never contain instructions for removal. It will always
contain a link to the originating website where the instructions can be found.
So there you have it: Five simple, common sense ways to protect yourself from email
mischief. If you ever have a concern about email, or if I can help in any way, just give
me a call at (306) 652-1595 or email .
Nicholas Jesson, webeditor Adapted from GoDaddy.com
