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Virus
FAQ
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What is a virus?
A computer virus is a computer
program designed and written to make additional copies of itself and spread from location
to location typically without one's knowledge or permission. Viruses add their code
to your computer when an infected file or program is executed on your computer. Some
viruses display symptoms such as unique error messages, and some cause damage to files on
an infected computer. But a program does not have to perform outright damage (such as
deleting or corrupting files) in order to be called a "virus".
The most common categories of viruses are:
- Boot viruses that become active and run when the computer is restarted, or when
restarted with an infected floppy disk in the drive
- File viruses which attach themselves to executable program files and activate when the
program is run
- Macros viruses which attach themselves to documents and templates so that when the file
is opened the virus becomes active
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Why worry about viruses?
Different
viruses will affect your computer in different ways. The symptoms are specific to
the virus. Some viruses can delete files, prevent you from restarting your computer, send
emails from your account without your knowledge, or make your computer run more slowly.
Even if a virus causes no obvious problems on your computer, you may inadvertently spread
it to someone else who is vulnerable. The best way to combat viruses is to take
precautions to reduce your risk of infection in the first place. |
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How do you get a virus?
A virus' main function is to
spread itself from computer to computer.
You can get a virus by
- Opening an infected e-mail attachment
- Opening an infected file located on the network
- Running an infected program (which can be a game, screen saver, etc.)
- Saving an infected file to a diskette or zip disk and then using it on your computer
- Rebooting an infected computer when a floppy disk is in the drive and then using the
floppy disk on your computer (boot viruses)
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Failing to
install your operating system's security updates
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What can you do to
protect yourself?
Your most important investment is an
anti-virus program. An anti-virus program can check your entire computer for viruses and
clean the programs or files that are infected, and inform you of the existence of those it
cannot. Trinity has anti-virus software available for campus use. McAfee VirusScan
for Windows is available for free to students and is installed on
all college-owned Windows computers. Install anti-virus software today and protect yourself!
Although you can scan files before you open or download them, this method is not fool
proof. New viruses are created daily and even the most up to date anti-virus
software may not recognize every single virus. In order to better protect your
computer and save yourself the pain of losing important documents or even worse (some
viruses can damage the entire contents of your hard drive), it is important to follow some
precautions:
- Never open an e-mail attachment from an unknown source.
- Do not open e-mail attachments which you are not expecting (even from someone you know)
unless your last anti-virus update was at least 2 days before. Some viruses spread
themselves by sending infected e-mails to people's address books. The person sending
you the virus might not realize that they are sending you an e-mail at all.
- Be suspicious of e-mails with vague subjects such as 'I love you', 'Free vacation',
'Important', 'Warning', etc... Make sure that when you send e-mails your own subject
headings have some kind of significance. Do not perpetuate bad habits.
- If your anti-virus software detects a virus, clean it, and if the software cannot clean
it, delete the file. It is never a good idea to keep a virus on your computer.
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What
are hoaxes?
A
hoax is a message, typically distributed via e-mail or newsgroups, that is written to
deliberately spread fear, uncertainty and doubt. Hoaxes prey on the lack of
technical knowledge and goodwill of all those that receive the hoax. Generally,
hoaxes are warnings about threats to your computer that do not actually exist.
The most common type of hoax warns one to not to open an e-mail message with a certain
subject because it will activate a virus. Opening an email can not activate
a virus. Reading an email does not involve the execution of any sort of programs, which is
a prerequisite for a virus to activate. The only exception to this is if your email
software is configured to automatically open attachments. If you are not required to take
any steps in reading an attached file you should investigate how to change this setting in
your email software package. You should always be prompted before opening an attachment in
e-mail or a file from your web browser, so can prevent a virus in an infected file from
contaminating your computer.
Most hoaxes ask you to forward the warning on to as many people as possible. This is
how the hoax spreads itself. As a general rule, if you receive any message that asks
you to forward it to others, you should check the accuracy of the message first. If a
message warns you about a virus and doesn't have a link to a source that you can trust
(anti-virus companies or well known software companies) then it is most likely an hoax. If
you still might think that the warning is true, do some internet research (look at the
links below) to check if the warning is legitimate. Do not just forward the
e-mail. Passing on messages about these hoaxes only serves to further propagate
them. For additional assistance, students should contact the Student Help Desk at x2007.
Faculty and staff should call x2100.
For more information on hoaxes, visit these sites:
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Resources
- Software - FREE to students!!! Install it
today!
The information
on this page was compiled from information on Computer Associates,
McAfee and Symantec
websites.
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For more
information:
You can contact the Help
Desk by visiting the desk on B level of the LITC, or calling x2100
(faculty and staff) or x2007 (students).
Return to Help Guides Index
Last Modified:
09/07/2004 |
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