About Viruses

A virus is type of computer vandalism through software obtained through external sources such as the internet or a floppy disk. It usually causes some unexpected and usually undesirable event. A virus is often designed so that it is automatically spread to other computer users.

Viruses can be transmitted as attachments to an email, as downloads from the internet, or be present on a floppy disk, CD or other external source. The person who is the source of the virus, whether email message or other source, is often unaware of the virus. The effect of some viruses appears as soon as their code is executed; others lie dormant until circumstances cause their code to be executed by the computer. Some viruses are playful ("Happy Birthday, Ludwig!") and some can be quite harmful, erasing data or causing your hard disk to require reformatting. Worms and Trojan Horses are other kinds of computer vandalism, somewhat different from viruses but often referred to by the name virus.

A worm is a program which copies itself and spreads, often increasing traffic on a network and slowing it down. Worms usually spread over network servers, but are not usually spread through sharing of software or disks by individuals.

The Trojan horse is named for (and functions like) the Trojan Horse. It misleads the person using it by pretending to do something useful, but when it runs in a computer, it does something different. It may have some very harmful effect such as scrambling files or reformatting a disk.

Viruses are invented by someone with the thought in mind of damaging or ruining your computer programs and/or data. As people use the Internet more and more,the likelihood of getting infected by a virus increases. This can happen simply by accessing data, such as music downloads. In particular, viruses can be acquired by transferring programs and data between different machines.

For example, if you download a program, music, graphics, or open an email attachment, you could be transporting a virus along with it. Any external source of data going into your computer should be scanned for viruses. Everyone should be aware that virus protection is of growing importance, and should be available on every computer. Viruses have caused companies worldwide billions of dollars and have caused serious loss.

Ways to Protect Yourself

  • Make Backups! Keep backup copies of everything you don't want to lose.
  • Never boot a computer from a floppy disk or other external source unless you're sure that it's virus free.
  • Be suspicious of saving data on public computer areas.
  • Regard software sources with suspicion. In general, shrink-wrapped commercial software should be clean, but not always.
  • As soon as you suspect an infection, check your storage devices with an anti-virus program.
  • Be suspicious of email attachments in particular. While opening the email message will probably be safe, opening the attachment may not be.
  • Be suspicious of shared data web sites, such as music sharing.

Virus Protection Software

Free copies of McAfee antivirus for students can be obtained from the Computing Services section of the UALR web site (ualr.edu/computingservices/mcafee.asp)

Also, anti-virus software can be purchased at any stores that sell software or from web sites: the McAfee web site at MCAFEE.COM, or the Symantec Web site (Norton Anti-virus) at SYMANTIC.COM. Anti-virus software is also available from TUCOWS.COM

Other sources of antivirus software can be found at AVAST.COM. Free virus scans are avaiable at TRENDMICRO.COM as well as MICROSOFT.COM/SECURITY and other sites.

Warning Signs of Viruses

Look out for any unusual behavior on your computer, which might indicate infection:
  • Does it take longer than usual to load programs?
  • Do unusual error messages appear?
  • Does the memory size seem to have decreased?
  • Do the disk lights stay on longer than they used to?
  • Do files just disappear?
  • Are there unusual problems after you've opened an email attachment?