WirelessVT Residential Internet Service

What is a Computer Virus?

A computer virus is just like a virus people get. It is something that enters the computer and causes damage, and can be fatal if untreated. It can often go undiagnosed for months or years, and may not harm the computer until triggered by another event.

What is Anti-Virus?

Anti-Virus is the cure for a virus. Unlike the human virus, where you take antibiotics once you are infected, anti-virus software works to detect and terminate all viruses before they get a chance to do their damage to the computer. Computer viruses tend to do their damage all at once, and don't slowly build to their full potential, so it is critical to stop them immediately.

Anti-Virus is ultimately software, however, there are dedicated devices for larger companies which handle viruses. Our networks have a dedicated device which cleans viruses from the network. While both hardware and software anti-virus solutions are available to everyone, cost usually prohibits the normal person from purchasing hardware anti-virus.

Who makes Anti-Virus?

Many companies make these products. You can buy them anywhere computer software is sold or you can buy them online.

How likely am I to get a virus if I don't have Anti-Virus software installed on my computer?

WirelessVT Solutions has a firewall at the point where the internet meets our network, so people outside your town cannot get in, which blocks many viruses, but this doesn't protect you from getting a virus from your neighbor. On other broadband systems, this is not the case. It takes the average new computer unequipped with anti-virus only 20 minutes to get infected once attached to the internet! Think of it like cold weather. You wouldn't leave your house in -20 F without a jacket. Quickly, you would get frostbite. Similarly, you shouldn't hook your computer to the internet without its' jacket, anti-virus software.

How can I get a Virus?

Viruses come many ways. The most common and most widely discussed is through email. WirelessVT Solutions has anti-virus scanning all email through our systems. We use the most advanced software available. However, the virus makers are constantly making new improved viruses which find ways around the software, so there is no guarantee that the emails contain no viruses, just no known viruses. The other way you can get a virus is by browsing the internet. You can get it right through the web browser itself. That is why it is extremely important to have anti-virus software on your machine, regardless of what other precautions you or we take.

Who makes viruses and why?

If we could answer this question, we'd be able to stop it. Virus writers usually make them to exploit a problem with software to prove there is a problem. Typically, these people report a problem to a company, like Microsoft, and the company doesn't fix the problem or address that it is a problem. Frustrated, the virus writer creates a program (the virus) to infect machines to prove that it is a problem. Other people dislike a company so they target the company and never tell that company their software has a bug at all. Some people are just bad and create them to cause other people headaches and losses.

What anti-virus program do you suggest?

We have used many different ones, and have found most of the major-named products work about the same. The only things that change our opinion is with the company's technical support or history of problems. On that note, Norton Antivirus products have caused numerous headaches in the 10 years of support we have been providing for computers and therefore suggest against using their products, especially on Windows XP with Service Pack 2. TrendMicro (antivirus.com) has a product called PC-Cillin and another called Total Internet Security, which work well. PC-Cillin is just anti-virus and TIS contains a firewall and other items. Computer Associates (my-etrust.com) has EZ Antivirus and EZ Armor, where EZ Antivirus is just the anti-virus where EZ Armor contains a firewall and other items. McAfee has a similar offering. For home users, we push Grisoft AVG Anti-virus FREE edition. If you want more advanced features, the Professional edition is a good upgrade. It is only anti-virus-related items, no firewall.

I am interested to know more about viruses. Where can I get more information?

Since viruses have been around for over a decade, there are so many places to find information and so much information is it amazing. One of the best places to learn about viruses is from the companies that make anti-virus products. There are also many FAQs created over the years. The most comprehensive are listed here:

The most comprehensive list: http://www.faqs.org/faqs/computer-virus/faq/
More traditional-style FAQs:
Part 1: http://www.faqs.org/faqs/computer-virus/alt-faq/part1/
Part 2: http://www.faqs.org/faqs/computer-virus/alt-faq/part2/
Part 3: http://www.faqs.org/faqs/computer-virus/alt-faq/part3/
Part 4: http://www.faqs.org/faqs/computer-virus/alt-faq/part4/

What kind of files can spread viruses?

Viruses have the potential to infect any type of code, not just the files that are commonly called 'program files'. For example, some viruses infect executable code in the boot sector of floppy disks or in system areas of hard drives. Another type of virus, known as a 'macro' virus, can infect word processing and spreadsheet documents that use macros. And it's possible for HTML documents containing JavaScript or other types of executable code to spread viruses or other malicious code.

Since virus code must be executed to have any effect, files that the computer treats as pure data are safe. This includes graphics and sound files such as .gif, .jpg, .mp3, .wav, etc., as well as plain text in .txt files. For example, just viewing picture files won't infect your computer with a virus. The virus code has to be in a form, such as an .exe program file or a Word .doc file, that the computer will actually try to execute.

How do viruses spread?

When you execute program code that's infected by a virus, the virus code will also run and try to infect other programs, either on the same computer or on other computers connected to it over a network . And the newly infected programs will try to infect yet more programs.

When you share a copy of an infected file with other computer users, running the file may also infect their computers; and files from those computers may spread the infection to yet more computers.

If your computer is infected with a boot sector virus, the virus tries to write copies of itself to the system areas of floppy disks and hard disks. Then the infected floppy disks may infect other computers that boot from them, and the virus copy on the hard disk will try to infect still more floppies.

What is a Trojan horse program?

A type of program that is often confused with viruses is a 'Trojan horse' program. This is not a virus, but simply a program (often harmful) that pretends to be something else.

For example, you might download what you think is a new game; but when you run it, it deletes files on your hard drive. Or the third time you start the game, the program E-mails your saved passwords to another person.

Note: simply downloading a file to your computer won't activate a virus or Trojan horse; you have to execute the code in the file to trigger it. This could mean running a program file, or opening a Word/Excel document in a program (such as Word or Excel) that can execute any macros in the document.

What's the story on viruses and Email?

You can't get a virus just by reading a plain-text Email message or Usenet post. What you have to watch out for are encoded messages containing embedded executable code (i.e., JavaScript in an HTML message) or messages that include an executable file attachment (i.e., an encoded program file or a Word document containing macros).

In order to activate a virus or Trojan horse program, your computer has to execute some type of code. This could be a program attached to an Email, a Word document you downloaded from the Internet, or something received on a floppy disk. There's no special hazard in files attached to Usenet posts or Email messages: they're no more dangerous than any other file.

What can I do to reduce the chance of getting viruses from Email?

Treat any file attachments that might contain executable code as carefully as you would any other new files: save the attachment to disk and then check it with an up-to-date virus scanner before opening the file.

If your Email or news software has the ability to automatically execute JavaScript, Word macros, or other executable code contained in or attached to a message, I strongly recommend that you disable this feature.

My personal feeling is that if an executable file shows up unexpectedly attached to an Email, you should delete it unless you can positively verify what it is, who it came from, and why it was sent to you.

Just because an E-mail appears to come from someone you trust, this does NOT mean the file is safe or that the supposed sender had anything to do with it.