Computer Virus Presented by Cora Banks MOT-19 Ms.Cross

What’s a Virus? Virus  A small piece of software that copies itself and cannot exist without a host

What’s a Worm? Worm  A worm is specifically engineered to travel between computers.  Much nastier  Don’t need a host program  Jams up a network

What’s a Trojan Horse Trojan Horse  Is a program that disguise itself as another program  Hidden  Unwanted effect

History and Origins of the Virus  History  Viruses first was seen in the 1980’s  Because of several factors  One factor was the spread of PC’s  Use of Bulletin Boards  Floppy Disk  Origins  There are steps in creating a virus:  Write down the code  Test it to make sure it spread properly  And then release it to the world

Types of Viruses  Melissa Virus  Come in the form of  Mydoom Virus  Looks like a normal error message  Virus  Moves around in messages  Worm Virus or Code Red  Small software that uses computer networks  Letter Worm  Have the subject of ILoveYou

How They Spread  Downloading infected games from the internet  Uploading to a bulletin board and running it.  Giving infected programs to one another  NOT BEING CAREFUL!

Virus Attack Survey Info  Virus incidents grew 50% in 2004  Attack and cost increased for the 10 th consecutive year  Survey found a rate of 392 “virus encounters” per 100 computers  Recovery and costs rose 25% from 2003

Protecting Yourself Against Viruses Avoid programs from unknown sources On the Internet and Unknown Use Anti-virus software such as AVG, Norton 2005, McAfee Block virus file carriers such as EXE, COM, PIF, SCR and BAT Don’t install unfamiliar programs Scan attachments and programs from the internet

Backing Yourself UP Backup important work and data regularly Check that the backup was successful Check your virus protection software programs regularly Always be careful of what you download from the internet or anywhere on your computer

FACTS  May 11, 2005, Hacker sentenced to 21 months in jail  April 7, 2005, Man arrested in connection with dating website hack  Man detained in banking case  Man jailed for 911 nuisance calls

Sources and Further Info Frederick B.Cohen,1994 Short course on Computer Viruses David Stang of Quarter Deck, Computer Virus handbook Robert Slade’s,1994 Guide to Computer Viruses Jeffrey Kephart, Fighting Computer Viruses

Be Careful Of The “Virus” Never run a program you don’t know Buy the right virus protection software THE END