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Computer-Virus Writer's: A Few Bats In The Belfry?

by: Dean Phillips

"Male. Obsessed with computers. Lacking a girlfriend. Aged
14 to 34. Capable of creating chaos worldwide."

The above description is the profile of the average computer-virus writer, according to Jan Hruska, the chief executive of British-based Sophos PLC, the world's fourth-largest anti-virus solutions provider.

"They have a chronic lack of girlfriends, are usually
socially inadequate and are drawn compulsively to write self-
replicating codes. It's a form of digital graffiti to them,"
Hruska added.

To create and spread cyber infections, virus writers explore
known bugs in existing software, or look for vulnerabilities
in new versions.

With more and more new OS (operating system) versions, there
will be more new forms of viruses, as every single software
or OS will carry new features, and new executables that can
be carriers of the infection.

Executables are files that launch applications in a
computer's operating system, and feature more prominently in
new platforms like Microsoft's Windows 2000 and Windows XP
than they did in the older DOS or Windows 3.1.

Virus writers also share information to create variants of
the same infection, such as the Klez worm, which has been
among the world's most prolific viruses.

The Klez, a mass-mailing worm that originated in November
2001, propagates via e-mail using a wide variety of messages
and destroys files on local and network drives.

But the news gets worse. Recent events have uncovered what
may be a new trend: spammers paying virus writers to create
worms that plant an open proxy, which the spammer then can
use to forward spam automatically. Many suspect this
occurred with the SoBig virus.

The Sobig worms, began spreading in the early part of
2003. The unusual thing about them was they contained an
expiration date and were given a short life cycle to see how
features worked in the wild.

Having an expiration date also makes the virus more
dangerous, because most people would have been alerted to
the new worm within a few weeks and anti-virus definitions
would have been updated.

A variant of Sobig, Sobig-F was so efficient that just a few
infected machines could send thousands of messages. Sobig-F
created a denial-of-service effect on some networks, as e-
mail servers became clogged with copies of the worm.

According to Mikko Hypponen, manager of anti-virus research
for Finland-based F-Secure Corp, Sobig-F sent an estimated 300 million copies of itself.

Computer Economics, Inc. states, "Nearly 63,000 viruses have
rolled through the Internet, causing an estimated $65
billion in damage." However criminal prosecutions have been
few, penalties light and just a handful of people have gone
to prison for spreading the destructive bugs.

Why is so little being done? Antiquated laws and, for many
years, as crazy as it sounds, a "wink, wink" or even admiring attitude toward virus creators.

One person has been sent to prison in the United States and
just two in Britain, authorities say. But the low numbers
are "not reflective of how seriously we take these cases,
but more reflective of the fact that these are very hard
cases to prosecute," said Chris Painter, the deputy chief of computer crimes at the U.S. Department of Justice.

So what can you do to protect yourself against computer viruses?

Well, first and foremost, make sure you have proven anti-virus protection like like Symantec's Norton Anti-Virus or McAfee's ViruScan.

In addition, If you haven't already done so, I highly recommend installing Microsoft's Service Pack 2. SP2 tightens your PC's security with a new Windows Firewall, an improved Automatic Updates feature, and a pop-up ad blocker for Internet Explorer. Plus, the newly minted Security Center gives you one easy-to-use interface for keeping tabs on your PC's security apps.

"Male. Obsessed with computers. Lacking a girlfriend. Aged
14 to 34. Capable of creating chaos worldwide."

Now, I'm no psychiatrist, but to me, the above description
sounds more like someone with a few "bats in the belfry!"

About the author:
Dean Phillips is an Internet marketing expert, writer,
publisher and entrepreneur. Questions? Comments? Dean can be
reached at mailto: dean@lets-make-money.net

Visit his website at:

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Top 10 Ways To Protect Yourself From Computer Viruses
by: Jim Faller

As more and more people are becoming comfortable using their computers at school, home or in the office it�s only a matter of time before they encounter a computer virus. Here are our top 10 steps to protect you from computer viruses.

Use a high quality anti-virus program. There are many different anti-virus computers programs on the market some of them are better than others. Look to reputable computer magazines or websites for ratings to help you find the one that matches your needs.

Always use your anti-virus software. Make sure your anti-virus software is always turned on and scanning, incoming and outgoing email messages, and any software programs you run.

Keep your antivirus programs up to date. Most programs come with a yearly subscription make sure you take advantage of the updates. More advanced programs allow you to schedule updates or full system scans for �off hours� like 2AM when you aren�t likely to be using your computer.

Keep your computer up to date. From time to time operating systems fall victim to security holes or issue updates. Make sure you check periodically to make sure you are running stable up to date versions of your software.

Backup your data regularly. Most windows computer users keep their documents in the �My documents� folder. This makes it easy to back up all of your important documents. Make weekly or monthly copies to CD or USB drives.

If you use floppy disks or USB drives on public computers like your school computer lab, Kinko�s, or even digital photo printing store make sure you scan them for viruses. Public computers are notorious for not being up to date and properly protected.

Be wary of email attachments. Treat any email attachment as potentially dangerous. Never open attachments from people you weren�t expecting. Also be careful of attachments from people you know but weren�t expecting. Many computer viruses replicate themselves by reading the contacts from an infected computer.

Use text email if possible. While HTML email is prettier and allows you more control over formatting it also can carry computer viruses. If you use text based email the only way to get a virus is by opening an attachment.

Use downloaded freeware and shareware files or software with caution. Try to download them from popular reputable sources that scan the programs before they are uploaded. To make sure you are safe scan the program before you install it on your computer.

Be wary of links in IM or instant messaging software. Don�t accept invitations from people you don�t know and never click a link from someone you don�t trust, they can easily redirect you to another website that will try to install a virus on your computer system.

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