We are losing with Worm-tacular Results
by Ross R. Lasley
Its been a pretty interesting few weeks in the world of virus monitoring. At it's peak last Wednesday the palyh worm could be found in about 1 of every 200 messages sent - which means lots and lots and lots of copies. This was right on the tail end of the Fizzer worm disaster - that little demon did a good job of fooling sysadmins.
The thing that you should know is this: There has been a long standing battle between virus writers and anti virus companies and the anti virus companies are losing.
The reason is because of the fundamental way anti virus software works, but more about that in a second. As anti virus software is basically losing the battle with virus writers you need to be more careful with your email and especially with attachments. The way most of these worms work is pretty simple, they come as an email with dozens of possible subjects all of which encourage you to click on the attachment. The attachment is the worm code and once activated it does a pretty good job of taking over your system and replicating itself via your email program. It can also do attractive things like erase your data, destroy your Internet connection and all sorts of other stuff that you may hear some unhappy person talking about.
The fundamentals of protecting yourself have not changed though and it is still pretty simple.
- Update your virus definitions often
- Do not open attachments that you aren't expecting
- Backup your machine and files regularly
Anti virus programs work by using a list of known viruses and checking if anything in your email matches what is on that list - they usually call this the 'definition file'. So if you have updated your viruses definitions in the last 72 hours the worms discussed above are now on your list and you are protected from them, but if you haven't then you aren't. When a new virus comes out the anti virus companies need to get a copy of it, spend some time figuring out how it works, and then write a definition that will allow your software to pick it up before it reaches your email box. Of course this only works if you actually update the software regularly. This is why the current way anti virus software works will not be effective long term - it is a totally defensive posture. Anti virus software is not smart, it can't identify new viruses or suspicious activity unless it has been programmed (with definitions) to look for that specifically. A company that develops a piece of intelligent anti virus software that is effective - that's a next generation product waiting to happen.
When you deal with email regularly you usually get all sorts of things attached to messages - spreadsheets, presentations - which is exactly how email is supposed to work. You really shouldn't open attachments that are not expected but at a minimum you can scan them with your (freshly updated) anti virus software.
If your machine stopped responding tomorrow morning and all the data was lost how big a problem would that be? The last thing you need to do to protect yourself from viruses is the simplest of all and the one that is most often overlooked - backup. Viruses are getting more and more common but it is still more likely you'll spill a cup of coffee in the keyboard - which can fritz your whole system. The vast majority of new systems have some sort of mass storage device - why not burn a CD of your 'my documents' folder and other critical info? If you don't have a plan for regularly backing up your critical data you should get one in place - it requires little time and effort, and you'll feel much better for it.
Click here for Norton's update page
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 Tech Tip |
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Rearrange Your Toolbar Buttons
by Jared Daubert
(Please Note: This Tip only works for Windows XP)
Want to rearrange the toolbar buttons in your Windows Explorer and Internet Explorer windows?
From inside any Windows Explorer or Internet Explorer window, select View drop-down menu, then highlight Toolbars, move your cursor to the right to the panel that just opened and then down to "Customize".
A new window will appear titled "Customize Toolbar" to the right you'll see a box with a bunch of icons in it with a caption above reading "Current Toolbar Buttons" which is a list of all the buttons you currently have enabled.
To disable a button or remove a seperator highlight the icon and click the "<- Remove" Button.
To add a button or seperator highlight it from the icon list on the left and click the "Add ->" Button. |
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