VIURUSES

Viruses, when you think of this word, what comes to mind?   Sickness? Disease? Illness?  Imagine all of these dreadful things inhabiting your computer, laptop, or smart device rather than your body.  No one wants to be ill and they especially don’t want their devices to be ill.

I personally have been involved with computers since 1998, repairing, diagnosing, training, installing software, even a system administrator.  Viruses are a computer program capable of attaching itself to disks or other files and replicates itself repeatedly, typically without user knowledge or permission.

Hopefully you have heard of computer viruses and the devastation they can cause businesses and individuals, but if you haven’t,  I will tell you about different types of viruses, the ways in which they can be sent, and the computer devices they can attack.  Computer viruses affect every one of us using technology today and come at us in many different forms, can be disguised in many ways, and can attack all types of computer devices.

There are different kinds of virus threats that can affect our computers.  Computer viruses in existence exceeded one million. I have listed the three most popular ones that are being used today.

1.      Worms: They are reproducing programs that run completely independently and spread on their own will through network connections.

2.      Trojan Horses: Are malicious programs pretending to be legitimate programs and purposely do something that the user doesn’t expect.

3.      Logic Bomb: It is a type of Trojan horse that executes when specific conditions occur.

There are a lot of different ways in which viruses are disguised, or how the creator delivers their virus so the intended victim doesn’t know it’s coming.  Here are a few ways viruses are distributed.

1.      Email:

a.       You get an email from a friend or a known acquaintance and open a word document you think is legitimate.

b.      Spam mail you get from a recognizable company.

2.      Drive By

a.       According to the article on the FBI website dated August 2012, I accessed on the 18th of October 2014, this one can install itself when users simply click on a compromised website. Once infected, the victim’s computer immediately locks, and the monitor displays a screen stating there has been a violation of federal law. The bogus message goes on to say that the user’s Internet address was identified by the FBI or the Department of Justice’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section as having been associated with child pornography sites or other illegal online activity. To unlock their machines, users are required to pay a fine using a prepaid money card service.

3.      Security tools:

a.       Security programs

b.      Scanning programs

4.      Software:

a.       Purchased from a retail store.

b.      Purchased online.

 Think about the new technology and what you, your family, and friends, own or want to own;  Smart phones, IPads, Tablets, Cars, Smart TV’s, Gaming devices, or even Robots.

These viruses and the delivery methods used not only affect our computers but can affect all of the devices we have. According to Brad Chicos in the2013 edition of PC World, I accessed on the 17^th day of October 2014, hackers can even attack your web connected printer to gain access to previously printed documents.

As I told you earlier, I have been servicing computers since 1998 and the amounts of problems I have seen because of viruses are too many to mention.  New technology has brought us a long way in just a short period of time.   Make sure you are safe out there with all new technology and let’s enjoy the ride.

Posted By: Jeff Trangsrud