Abdulla Hisham

How do viruses, worms and Trojan horses usually spread from PC to PC? How can I be assured that my PC doesn't contain any of them?

These days, the most common way that viruses spread is via e-mail. They can be attachments that the virus itself sends out, or that the user innocently sends to other users.
Some viruses spread by using the open file shares on networks to seek out new hosts. And there are still some viruses around which infect a PC when it is booted up with a diskette in the drive.
The best way to be sure that your PC doesn't have any viruses is to start with a completely empty hard drive. Install the operating system from an original manufacturer's CD and then install up- to-date antivirus software as the first program, scanning all subsequent software installed. Once you've finished, keep the antivirus software up to date by downloading updates every day. Monday, May 23, 2005 at 6:10 PM

A complete information about viruses....

The threat of computer virus has been a concerned issue to computer users for a long time. Recently, this issue has become even more serious and affecting nearly all people using computers. As more people in the world are exchanging emails and files using their computers through Internet, computer viruses are proliferating much more quickly and extensively. We are getting to a stage where if we use any Internet services at all, there is the possibility of contracting a computer virus. Sometimes, you may be the culprit for sending your friends a computer virus without being aware of it. This article looks at a few of the recent virus attacks, the mode of transmission, the damages they can do to computers, and ways in which you can prevent a virus infection.


What is a computer virus?

Computer viruses are programs that are designed to spread themselves from one file to another or from one computer to another where the mode of transmission always involves humans beings. We send e-mail document attachments, chat with others in the Internet chat rooms, trade programs on diskettes, or copy files to file servers. When an unsuspecting user receives the infected file or disk, they spread the virus to their computer, and so on.
Some viruses are called worms which are more insidious because they rely less (or not at all) upon human behavior in order to spread themselves from one computer to another. The computer worm is a program that is designed to copy itself from one computer to another over a network (e.g. by using e-mail). The worm spreads itself to many computers over a network, and doesn't wait for a human being to help. This means that computer worms spread much more rapidly than computer viruses.

There are other viruses called Trojan Horses. A Trojan Horse is a program in which malicious or harmful code is contained inside an apparently harmless program or data. The disguised program is introduced into a computer system where it can then get control and do its damage, such as ruining the file allocation table on your hard disk. Trojan Horses do not replicate.

What damages do computer viruses do?
A computer virus may have many variants (mutants), always getting to be more virulent and deadly. At the time this article is written, some of the more recent viruses transmitted by email are:

ILOVEYOU - This worm calls the Microsoft Outlook application and creates messages by iterating through all the addresses in the Microsoft Outlook Address Book. The latest version of this worm does not give itself away by an ''ILOVEYOU'' subject line. Instead, the subject line changes to a random word or phrase every time a computer is infected. The subject line of an infected e-mail starts with ''FW: '' and includes the name of a randomly chosen attachment from a previous e-mail on an infected computer. The e-mail will have an attachment with the same name, but ending in ''.vbs.'' Clicking on the attachment will activate the virus. Like the earlier version, it will send itself to everybody in the user's address book. It will then destroy most of the files on the hard drive, rendering the computer useless until the operating system is re-installed.

CIH - This virus, often referred as the Chernobyl virus, was first discovered in June of 1998 in Taiwan. CIH is a very destructive virus. The first payload overwrites the hard disk with random data starting at the beginning of the disk (sector 0) using an infinite loop. The overwriting of the sectors will not stop until the system has crashed. As a result, your computer will not boot from the hard disk or floppy disk. Also the data that has been overwritten on your hard disk will be very difficult or impossible to recover. You will need to restore the data from backups. The second payload attacks the Flash BIOS (the basic input/output system). As a result, your computer may not display anything on the screen when you startup the system.

PRETTYPARK - Once the worm program is executed, it tries to email itself automatically every 30 minutes to email addresses registered in your Internet address book. It also tries to connect to an IRC (Internet Relay Chat) server and join a specific IRC channel. Via IRC, the author or distributor of the worm can obtain system information, including the computer name, product name, product identifier, product key, registered owner, registered organization, system root path, version, version number, ICQ identification numbers, ICQ nicknames, victim's email address, and Dial Up Networking username and passwords. In addition, being connected to IRC opens a security hole in which the client can potentially be used to receive and execute files.

MELISSA - The Melissa is both a virus and a worm. When a user opens an infected document, the virus will attempt to e-mail a copy of this document to up to 50 other people, using Microsoft Outlook. It infects a MS Word 97 and MS Word 2000 document by adding a new macro module named Melissa. Although there is nothing unique in the infection routine of this macro virus, it has a payload that utilizes MS Outlook to send an attachment of the infected document being opened.

HAPPY99.EXE is a worm program. This program has reportedly been received through email spamming and USENET newsgroup posting. The file is usually named HAPPY99.EXE and appears as an attachment to an email or article. When executed, the program opens a window entitled "Happy New Year 1999 !!" and shows a fireworks display to disguise its other actions. The program modifies the WSOCK32.DLL file in the Windows directory and the worm action will be triggered when an Internet connect or send activity is detected. This creates a new email or a new article with HAPPY99.EXE inserted into the email or article. It then sends this email or posts this article.

What can I do if I suspect a computer virus?
You can find information on the latest viruses at http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/index.html On that page, the latest discovered viruses are listed under the column called 'Top Threats'. Read the information on how the virus is transmitted, what it does, and what damages to your system it is supposed to do. Usually, double clicking or opening the virus file will activate the virus. So, be cautious in opening a suspicious attachment file. If you suspect a virus, delete it immediately. A virus that has not been activated can be deleted and it should not affect anything in your system.

What can I do if my computer system is infected?
If your operating system is not affected, and you can start up the system, you may just install and run an anti-virus software which can detect and remove the virus or even rescue the damaged files and then you will be back in business.

If your operating system is affected but not the BIOS (basic input/output system), and your system will still respond upon starting up, then you can use a clean DOS boot disk to boot up the system. Use a DOS format anti-virus program to scan the hard disk and the anti-virus program will delete the virus or repair the damage. In some cases, the hard disk may have to be re-formatted, and the windows operating system and other applications re-installed. If both operating system and the BIOS are affected, and the screen is all dark and there is no response when you turn on the system, then you are most unfortunate. You would have to contact your vendor and see what system components need to be replaced.

What can I do to prevent computer virus infection?
1. You can install an anti-virus software which will be able to detect the virus if it exists in your system. The software will also destroy the virus for you. Scan everything, including new software diskettes. Keep your anti-virus program updated to stay ahead of any new viruses. Currently the Computer Centre has a policy on Norton Anti-Virus Software for staff and faculty (as it is a department license). If you are an individual, you would have to go to your local computer store to purchase the software.
2. Be leery of unsolicited e-mail attachments. E-mail itself cannot infect your computer, however if you open an infected executable attachment from e-mail, it can infect your computer. Therefore, you should turn off any features that automatically open e-mail attachments or launch programs you download. You can also confirm with the sender before opening an attachment. Use Webmail or Server-sided mail. You can reduce the chance of getting infected with email transmitted viruses if you use webmail or server-sided mail e.g. "pine" because the system does not download new email to your email client.
3. Backup your files regularly on external media. Create an emergency boot disk for your PC. If your system is infected with a deadly virus such as the CIH, you would have to reformat your hard disk and then re-install all system files and program/data files from backups. So backup your harddisk and other system files regularly because they are your last resort.
4. NEVER use pirated software (one of the most common methods for spreading computer viruses). at 11:24 AM

Handheld devices are vulnerable to virus threats because their operating systems are similar to that of computing devices. Viruses affect all operating systems in handheld technology. While we have seen last year viruses written to affect Symbian operating system such as the Caribe, Windows based OS remains the biggest target of virus creators because of the popularity of the system and hence are affected the most.

Handheld devices, and especially PDA's are setting prevalence on individual and corporate bases. In this region, we have seen the PDA market booming last year, a trend expected to continue at a fast pace. Consumers are preferring PDA's and Smartphones because of the extra features they provide and their compatibility and convenience for their daily events and business operations.
The effect of viruses on handheld devices is severe in several ways. For example, viruses can cause the loss of all critical data on PDA if not protected properly. Moreover, many handheld carriers plug their devices to their office computers and transfer data in and out or synchronize contacts and appointments. This action causes viruses residing in PDA's, to be transferred into the corporate network as well. Organizations invest a lot of money securing their networks yet unaware of the fact that infected handheld devices are also a virus transfer method. As the use of handheld devices, thanks to their convenience and enhanced features, increases, the getting communication devices and entire networks affected is augmented; in fact, viruses affecting handheld devices have cost companies billions of dollars in recent years.
Viruses penetrate PDA's, Smartphones and other handheld devices in many ways; exchanging data from an infected machine is the most common. Other ways include Bluetooth, infrared, downloading infected mail attachments and browsing the web with their devices.
Organizations lack awareness of handheld security measures in the region. The concept of corporate antivirus security is relatively new and only recently major corporations have implemented corporate security onto their networks. Therefore, handheld security knowledge is still falling far behind.
Moreover, security companies in the region are yet to take the right step in acknowledging the problem publicly, raising awareness to the danger of viruses, and providing a solution.
Despite all the risk associated with handheld, prevention methods exist. Installing an antivirus solution and making sure signatures are constantly updated is the best method of prevention. On a corporate level, policies should be in place to allow only certain users in a managerial level to use their PDA's with the company's network. Even those few users should have an antivirus solution installed on their handheld devices. Handheld manufacturers also have a great role to play in protecting the end users. All computing devices like desktops and laptops are nowadays sold with an antivirus solution pre-installed. We believe the PDA market will move in this direction soon.
Computer Associates understands that the PDA market is expanding in the Arab world and CA has taken the initiative in the region addressing the risks associated with handheld devices through awareness campaigns. We also conducted one-to-one consultation meetings with security managers of major organizations. As part of our commitment to the region, CA is also in talks with major manufacturers of handheld devices for a joint action plan in providing pre-installed antivirus or provides a CA downloadable solution on their websites. The response and the results have been very positive.
Computer Associates is a corporate focused organizations expanding into the commercial and end user market segments. We have dedicated a focus to provide protection to end-users. This puts CA in a unique and competitive position to examine the problems from all aspects.
Lots of companies have antivirus solutions for the handheld technology; however, Computer Associates is offering one complete single solution that contains executables for desktop, laptops and handheld devices. With CA, it is unnecessary to purchase two separate solutions like other companies offer.
Computer Associates eTrust Antivirus 7.1 which installs itself on handheld devices and gives the option of updating signature files from within the device itself. Another feature is the facility to manage the product on your handheld from a centralized corporate network. If eTrust Antivirus is installed on the corporate network, it can manage wireless devices as well.
CA's eTrust Antivirus offers protection against all the latest and known viruses as well as 100% protection against viruses in the wild. It has also ranked the number one solution for 30 consecutive times by the Security Information Center proving our superior technology in identifying unknown viruses.
Computer Associates has a 24x7 research facility in five locations conducting threat research. CA's eTrust Antivirus covers the largest number of platforms and operating systems including Palm, Windows CE, Smartphones, MAC, UNIX and others.
The next release of CA eTrust will feature a faster and a real enterprise deployable solution managing hundreds of thousands of connected and wireless devices from a central location which will distinguish the solution among competition. Sunday, May 22, 2005 at 11:41 PM

If microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer add his weigh, linux would be wiped off the face of the earth and he is doing what he can in that direction. Ballmer recently made waves at a Singapore conference, telling the attendees that linux- not a particular distro or product but linux itself- actually violated 228 different patents. He also warned- or , rather threatened- that litigation might await compannies that make linux based cell phones. THe dig may have been directed at Panasonic and NEC, both of which have plans for linux 3G handsets.
reference : Digit April 2005 Wednesday, May 18, 2005 at 4:04 PM

get linux modem driver for smartlink 56kpbs modem.... at 9:46 AM