Goner.A, Badtrans.B, Sircam.Worm, Magistr.corrupt; were it not for the inclusion of dots, the names of these computer viruses would read like imaginative aliases of street kids from an SE Hinton novel.
As it is these unusual nomenclatures belong to computer viruses which are, unfortunately, becoming all too familiar. veritable Pandora’s box of these little nasties invade the hard drives of intranets, extranets and PC users everywhere.
It’s management problem that won’t go away anytime soon. On the contrary, it’s likely to get worse. Our own office was assaulted by 67 attacks in September, 182 in October, 212 in November and the trend continues. The problem lies with the gaping security holes left lurking in all the most widely used software packages. Major platforms, such as Windows, are inherently insecure. Files created in programs such as Microsoft Word are easily corrupted, and most software is designed with functionality rather than security in mind.
Bookshelves now labour under the weighty tomes written about how to protect your system from virus attack but we turned to Alan Candy, managing director of Applied Insight, company that sells antivirus software, to outline some simple steps that can be taken to minimise the chances and severity of an attack. He suggests:
* Back-up all files regularly, either daily or weekly. Files can be stored on CD or tape and should be stored offsite.
* Invest in good antivirus software. Applied Insight supplies Sophos Anti-Virus software (www.sophos.com), high-end product for larger companies, and Kaspersky Antivirus software (www.kaspersky.com), an application useful for smaller businesses. There is plethora of others. Symantec’s (www.symantec.com) Norton AntiVirus is popular as is McAfee’s VirusScan (www.mcafee.com). Beware, however, some products are simply not up to standard. Check out the Virus Bulletin (www.virusbtn.com/100) if you are unsure. This online bulletin regularly assesses all the antivirus players’ products, testing their ability to deal with any new strains of virus or newly emerging worms.
* Don’t just invest in the software. Viral software must be updated regularly to deal with constantly emerging new strains of viruses. Message: update, update, and then re-update.
* Larger companies should install firewall to detect contaminated emails invading the organisation.
* Smaller companies without firewall and using PCs, should regularly update the Windows platform. Microsoft provides patches to fix problems in its software. These can be downloaded from the Microsoft site. Internet browsers should also be regularly updated.
* Avoid using some default settings in programmes such as Microsoft Outlook, particularly features such as automatically adding everyone you email to your address book. Viruses generally send themselves out to everyone in your address book.
* Managers should consider sensible blanket rules to control viruses. It’s not excessive to ban employees from opening all attachments. Files ending with .doc; .xls; .exe; .com; .pif and .scr as attachments should all be treated with caution.
* Finally, it’s important to be aware of hoax viruses. If you’re not sure that warning about virus is sincere (warning bells should be ringing if you are told to start deleting files on your hard drive) then check on any main antivirus software suppliers’ websites.
No system is 100 percent secure regardless of how many precautions you take. The adage “where there is will there is way” is all too pertinent in the computer virus world.
Damon Birchfield is an Auckland-based freelance writer. Email: [email protected]
