| By Tommy Carlile
 As
if the newer threats such as Spam and Spyware weren’t enough
for you to worry about, you must make sure that you don’t
forget about the older threats. Viruses, Worms, and Trojan Horses
have been around for a long while and they are still causing disturbances
across the globe.
So what is the difference between Viruses, Trojan
Horses, and Worms?
It has long been believed that any program that causes computer
problems is a virus but actually the definition of a virus is different.
Computer viruses most often will hide their selves throughout your
computer in various places. But a program does not have to cause
harm in order to be a virus. There have been instances of programs
that simply replicate themselves and spread around but cause no
harm; these sorts of programs must also be considered a virus. These
pieces of software can spread in many ways. Perhaps you download
a song and the MP3 is infected, or maybe you open a document you
downloaded and the file is infected. Whatever way you become infected
the virus will attempt to copy itself and infect other computers.
A
computer Worm is another term that has been labeled as a virus.
Worms are even peskier than a virus mainly because they spread without
any user interaction. What this means is that your computer can
become infected without you downloading a file onto your computer.
The fact that your computer is merely on the internet is enough
to become infected. Many of the security updates that Microsoft
offers for its popular Windows operating system are because of “flaws”
in Microsoft’s software that allows the worm to spread. As
soon as a software company becomes aware that there is a “hole”
in its software there are usually patches that are released that
help to close these holes. These flaws are not limited to Microsoft
I just used them as an example because that is what we hear about
in the media more. Practically any software is susceptible to becoming
exploited by a worm. Once your compute becomes infected the worm
will use your connection to the internet whether it is through a
network or over a dial up connection in order to spread itself around
the world.
Trojan
Horses are programs that pose as something they are not. Trojan
Horses get their name from the ancient story of the Trojan Horse
where a giant hollow horse filled with soldiers was built and presented
as a gift to their enemy. This malware differs from viruses and
worms in the matter that it does not generally attempt to replicate
and spread itself. Rather it normally causes a hidden and unwanted
effect. Usually it will create a “backdoor” that provides
someone else an open invitation into your computer. Lately there
have been Trojan Horses that open a backdoor so that Spyware can
be loaded onto your system without your knowledge.
What
can I do to protect my computer from infection? Although there is
no guaranteed way that you can have 100% protection from all malware
there are many things you can do to help limit your risk for infection.
First and foremost the main thing you must do is to use anti virus
software. It is not enough though to merely install anti virus but
you must also make sure that your virus definitions are completely
up to date. Every time you log onto the internet it is a good practice
to check for virus definition updates. Although all anti virus is
different generally all this involves is opening up your anti virus
client and then clicking on the update button.
It
is also good practice to not open up unknown programs or files.
Unless you know exactly what the file is I would not even consider
opening it. This is also true for email attachments. If you receive
an email even from a friend that has an attachment on it I would
think twice before opening it up. Where you expecting a file from
this person, does the name of the file sound like something they
would send you?
Basically
you just want to use caution when connected to the internet. Use
common sense. If you were not expecting a file or email from someone
then don’t open it. If your anti virus definitions are old,
download new ones. Precaution can do wonders to help limit your
risk. Using common sense will help a lot but all of the precaution
in the world won’t guarantee you won’t become infected. |
