Computer Infections: Why, How, and Can We Protect Ourselves.
“Ultimately,
there is no security.”
Dr. Fred Cohen, Professor,
As electronic networks spread around the
globe so do the risks of damage to valuable information and the anxiety over
attacks by intruders, worms and viruses. These
organisms can create local malfunctions and in some cases major network-wide
chaos. This problem escalates as the world-wide use of networking expands. Computer viruses infect millions of personal
computers worldwide.
Most
computer users want a reliable system working without interruptions, that
has privacy and will not be tampered with and not to have to live in fear
that their computer will be brought down by a virus.
Unfortunately there a few computer users who want to do just the opposite.
These unfortunate individuals are called hackers.
They choose to snoop around where they are not authorized, create and
plant viruses and worms to make systems unreliable and bring down computer
systems.
Hackers sometimes know as “network intruders”
have found ways of dialing into remote computers, cracking the passwords and
tricking the systems into letting them have system privileges.
Viruses have been defined as “malicious software”
that replicates itself. A computer
virus reproduces itself and can somehow attach itself to other programs.
Trojan Horses, worms and viruses are considered malicious as they are
intended to do damage. These items must be put into your system in
order to work. This paper explores
these man-generated annoyances, who is creating them and why, and what is
being done for prevention, protection and repair of the damage they cause.
A
trogan horse is a program which appears to perform a
certain service but actually performs a different service often times a virus
in disguise. A legitimate program can
be infected with a virus and infect other computers while the user thinks he is
executing a bona-fide program.
Worms are programs that move through the system
altering pieces of data. The altered
data resembles a worm track. In some
cases a worm may reproduce beyond a single copy but it won’t infect other
programs. It can be a virus if it
reproduces itself and infects other programs. Worms often clog networks and
information systems as they spread.
Viruses are code segments that reproduce
and infect other programs. They attach
themselves to a program or system component and often leave no obvious signs
that they are there. A computer virus is
a program and must be run in order for it to reproduce or do any damage. The
success of a virus spreading depends on how it is disguised and replicated
unnoticed. A virus consists of
self-replicating code and the payload.
The payload or side-effects can range from annoyance to serious
vandalism.
Logic Bombs are programs which cause damage
when triggered by some condition such as a certain time or date. Logic Bombs are often found in viruses. On
The possibility of computer viruses was
mentioned in 1984 but was not taken serious.
The first computer virus was created in January of 1986 by two brothers
from
The name hacker used to refer to computer
enthusiasts but has recently acquired a negative connotation referring to
people who use computers for illegal, unauthorized or destructive
activities. We do however; have to make
the distinction between people who intentionally access computer systems and
those who do it unintentionally. Hackers access computers by cracking or
guessing passwords, finding flaws in the program or using creating worms which
repeatedly try to access the computer until the system lets them in.
The only foolproof way to keep hackers out
of your computer is to not network it.
Installing a firewall (a program which stops other connections from
different servers) is often
successful in protecting your system from hackers. Hackers can be as young as fourteen years
old. Hackers can be freaks who have a
grudge against society, university students who view hacking as an intellectual
challenge, disgruntled employees, computer club members, or terrorist
organizations, (fanatics for whom nothing else matters but their cause). Some major hacks have been done by teenagers,
14 -18 years old. Generally hackers are
intelligent, sophisticated and talented.
They cause horrific damage for “fun”, vengeance or profit.
Hackers who commit wire and computer fraud
violate the Federal Computer Fraud and Abuse act of 1986. Perpetrators of these offences may be
punished in a variety of ways. Hacking
within a company or business may result in suspension from jobs, probation or
termination from employment. Hackers
breaking into military or government computer systems may be fined, sentenced
to community service or receive a hefty jail sentence. Hacking within financial institutions or
businesses could also result in fines or jail sentences.
“It’s like a
fantasy of being a terrorist without the blood.”
Eric
Corley, Editor, 2600, a national hacker newsletter.
There are many ways of contracting Viruses,
Trojan Horses and
Symptoms of viruses are sometimes hard to
detect. A common sign is a slowing down
of the system. Slowness of opening
programs, the disk light flashing inappropriately or changes in memory or
program sizes can also be systems of viruses.
Viruses
can be disassembled by a number of commercially available disassemblers. Often the procedure of recovery of infected
files and disks means running a suitable anti-virus program capable of disinfecting
the system. However if the virus is
not known to the anti-virus program, anti-virus developer companies, will
probably receive the cure updates for this virus within a short amount of
time. You would be able to obtain patches to update your system from them
and install them yourselves.
There are many ways to protect your computer
from viruses. The first and most important
is to install antivirus software in your computer, use it regularly and keep
it updated. Samples of Virus Protection
programs are: www.mcafee.com - www.mwti.net/antivirus/escan -
www.my-etrust.com.
Secondly
make it a rule never to open email from addresses you don’t know or recognize. Other tips range from making up hard to guess
passwords to backing up your computer data regularly to disconnecting from
the Internet when you are not using your computer.
Additional protection could be obtained by installing a firewall. Many websites offer tips on protecting your
computer from viruses. Some of these
sites are:
www.orthogate.com/guide/chapter2/antivirus.html#20 and
antivirus.about.com/library/reviews/winscan/aaprnav2002.htm
Debate about unauthorized and disruptive
access and freedom of expression makes us wonder about the following: how should we look at and punish such
activities as virus planting, should malicious intent determine the extent of
guilt or punishment for these offences, should the victims share in the guilt
because of their failure to protect their systems from viruses, how much should
law enforcement pursue computer crimes, are we protecting these malicious
organisms by using the premises of freedom of speech on line. There is much discussion about “Cyberspace”
and what the rules, laws and policies should be. It is argued that because “Cyberspace” exists
in telephone lines that rules that apply to the telephone system should apply to
computer communication. Until stricter
laws and punishment for hackers are written and enforced, and maximum
protection has been designed viruses will be a threat to our daily lives.
No one is immune from these horrid bugs.
Viruses attacks will continue to plague the computer user until a way
to offer maximum protection has been discovered.
Until then virus alerts will be issued by computer security companies,
virus protection companies and the media.
Countermeasures are continuously being created to reduce the vulnerability
of computer systems to attack. 5 %
of our computer problems are caused by viruses of some type. Computer users need to be made aware of the
risk of infection from viruses and take an aggressive approach to protecting
themselves. Prevention is a matter
of common sense and adequately using safety measures.
“Some of the possibilities are so
horrifying I hesitate to set them down at
all.”
A.K.
Dewdney, Professor,
BIBLIOGRAPY
Baase, Sara. A Gift of Fire: Social, Legal,
and Ethical Issues in Computing. Prentise Hall Inc. 1997.
Denning, Peter J. Computers
Under Attack: Intruders,
Fites, Philip, Johnston, Peter, Kratz, Martin. The Computer Virus Crisis. Van Nostrand Reinhold. 1992.
Johnson, Deborah
G. Computer Ethics. First Edition, MIT Press. 1990.
Johnson, Deborah
G. Computer Ethics. Second Edition. Prentice Hall. 1994
Leebaert, Derek. Technology 2001: The Future of
Computing and Communications. Massachusetts
Institute of Technology. 1991.
Lundell, Allan. Virus: The Secret World of
Computer Invaders That Breed and Destroy.
Contemporary Books, Inc. 1989.
Hruska, Jan. Computer Viruses and Anti-Virus Warefare. Ellis Horwood
Limited. 1990.
www.antivirus.about.com/library/reviews/winscan/aaprnav2002.htm
www.orthogate.com/guide/chapter2/antivirus.html#20