Virus Basics

Created by:
Robert L. Bogue, MCSE: Security, etc.
Crowe Chizek and Company LLC

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Agenda
 Virus basics
 What to be concerned about
 Office protection
 Anti-virus messages

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What is a virus?
 A virus is a program that self-replicates
 It is not data
 You can only catch a virus by running a
program
 Your computer runs all kinds of programs

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Basic virus terminology
 Virus
 Self-replicating
 Also called a worm
 Trojan Horse
 A program which appears to be valuable but
has an unexpected consequence

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How viruses get into computers
 The four most common virus infections come
from:
 File – A virus type that infects existing files on the
computer (~40%)
 Macro – A virus that runs as a macro in a host
application such as the MS Office applications
(~35%)
 VBScript – A virus that uses Windows VisualBasic
Script functionality (~10%)
 Internet Worm – A virus that is primarily
characterized by it’s replication across the Internet
(~5%)

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The impact of viruses
 ICSA Labs estimates that the cost of a
virus disaster is between $50,000 and
$500,000
 Average server downtime for a virus
is 14 hours

Source: ICSA Labs Computer Virus Prevalence Survey 2001

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Basic virus defense
 Don’t open files that you are not expecting
 Many viruses automatically send files without
the e-mail account owner’s knowledge.
 Ask the sender to confirm unexpected files.
 Suspect messages that appear more than
once in your Inbox
 You may receive the same e-mail from a virus
repeatedly.
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Basic virus defense (cont.)
 Learn file extensions
 Your computer will display both an icon and
a file extension for files you receive. Open
only file extensions you know are safe.
 When in doubt, call the help desk.

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Examples of risky file types
 The following file types should never be
opened:
 .EXE
 .PIF
 .BAT
 .VBS
 .COM

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Office protection
 Office files are mostly data with some
program code
 Office macros are programs, which can be
viruses
 Office will prompt you to enable macros
 Enable macros only when you know why
office is asking

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Outlook file security
 Outlook will automatically block some
kinds of executable files, but not all
 If you need a file that Outlook blocked, call
the help desk
 Do not assume that because the file made it
through Outlook that it is safe

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Anti-virus warnings
 Notify the help desk when you receive a
virus warning from Norton Antivirus,
Symantec Antivirus, Trend Micro, etc.
 Most of the time, the virus software will
detect and prevent the infection. However,
the help desk can better tell you what to do.

©2003 CNET Networks, Inc. All rights reserved. http://techrepublic.com.com.