Terms 8
Definitions and Questions
Virus
A program or piece of code that is loaded onto
your computer without your knowledge and runs
against your wishes. Viruses can also replicate
themselves. All computer viruses are manmade.
A simple virus that can make a copy of itself over
and over again is relatively easy to produce.
Even such a simple virus is dangerous because
it will quickly use all available memory and bring
the system to a halt.
Viruses were first invented in the early 1980s,
but it wasn’t until 1987-8 that they actually
became dangerous ‘in the wild’
Worm
A computer worm is a self-replicating computer program, similar to a
computer virus. A virus attaches itself to, and becomes part of,
another executable program; however, a worm is self-contained and
does not need to be part of another program to propagate itself.
They are often designed to exploit the file transmission capabilities
found on many computers.
The main difference between a computer virus and a worm is that a
virus can not propagate by itself whereas worms can.
A worm uses a network to send copies of itself to other systems and
it does so without any intervention. In general, worms harm the
network and consume bandwidth, whereas viruses infect or corrupt
files on a targeted computer. Viruses generally do not affect network
performance, as their malicious activities are mostly confined within
the target computer itself.
Trojan
A Trojan is a network software application designed to
remain hidden on an installed computer. Trojans
sometimes, for example, access personal information
stored locally on home or business computers, then
send these data to a remote party via the Internet.
Alternatively, trojans may serve merely as a "backdoor"
application, opening network ports to allow other network
applications access to that computer.
The term comes from the a Greek story of the Trojan
War, in which the Greeks give a giant wooden horse to
their foes, the Trojans, ostensibly as a peace offering.
But after the Trojans drag the horse inside their city
walls, Greek soldiers sneak out of the horse's hollow
belly and open the city gates, allowing their compatriots
to pour in and capture Troy.
Virus / Worm / Trojan Q/A
Q: One of the most famous of these is
called “I Love You”, also known as “Love
Letter” and “the Love Bug”. It cost
business an estimated $8 billion. Was it a
virus, worm, or trojan?
A: It was a virus that spread through
emails labeled “I Love You”.
Anti-Virus
Anti-virus software consists of computer programs that
attempt to identify, thwart and eliminate computer viruses
and other malicious software (malware).
Anti-virus software typically uses two different
techniques to accomplish this:



Examining (scanning) files to look for known viruses matching
definitions in a virus dictionary
Identifying suspicious behavior from any computer program
which might indicate infection.
Such analysis may include data captures, port monitoring and
other methods.
Most commercial anti-virus software uses both of these
approaches, with an
emphasis on the virus dictionary approach.
Virus Definition File
Anti-virus software needs virus definition files to
work
These files hold the digital “signatures” of all the
known viruses
Virus definitions are what tell your antivirus
product about the viruses that are out at this
point in time. For example, if you have
definitions from last week, but a new virus came
out this week, then your AV product would not be
able to find that new virus with your "old"
definitions.
Palladium
a set of hardware and software features which Microsoft
and Intel (and AMD) intend to jointly add to future
versions of the Windows operating system, probably in
the 2004-5 timeframe.
Palladium’s goal is to make computers more secure by a
combination of hardware and software that identifies and
authenticates machines to one another (not applications,
data, or individuals) and prevents connections or
transmissions that the enabled policy rules don’t allow.
Much of the furor is about Microsoft (or Intel or another
big software or content company)


Controlling what may come onto your computer, rejecting
anything that doesn’t fit its definition of trustworthy.
Associating individuals to detailed personal information.
DRM
DRM (Digital Radio Mondiale) is the only
universal, open standard digital AM radio system
with near-FM quality sound available to markets
worldwide.
While DRM currently covers the broadcasting
bands below 30 MHz, the DRM consortium
voted in March 2005 to begin the process of
extending the system to the broadcasting bands
up to 120 MHz. The design, development and
testing phases are expected to be completed by
2007-2009.
DRM
Digital Rights Management
A system for protecting the copyrights of data
circulated via the Internet or other digital media
by enabling secure distribution and/or disabling
illegal distribution of the data.
Typically, a DRM system protects intellectual
property by either encrypting the data so that it
can only be accessed by authorized users or
marking the content with a digital watermark or
similar method so that the content can not be
freely distributed.
Palladium / DRM Q/A
Q: What is the Next-Generation Secure
Computing Base (NGSCB) ?
A: The "Next-Generation Secure Computing
Base" (NGSCB), formerly known as Palladium,
is Microsoft’s new trusted computing
architecture. (The name was changed in 2003.
Microsoft claimed it was because a book
publisher of the same name wouldn't allow them
to use "Palladium"; Critics charge that the
change was a reaction to the negative publicity
surrounding the Palladium operating system.)
Digital Watermarking
Also referred to as simply watermarking, a pattern of bits inserted
into a digital image, audio or video file that identifies the file's
copyright information (author, rights, etc.). The name comes from the
faintly visible watermarks imprinted on stationery that identify the
manufacturer of the stationery. The purpose of digital watermarks is
to provide copyright protection for intellectual property that's in
digital format.
Unlike printed watermarks, which are intended to be somewhat
visible, digital watermarks are designed to be completely invisible, or
in the case of audio clips, inaudible. Moreover, the actual bits
representing the watermark must be scattered throughout the file in
such a way that they cannot be identified and manipulated. And
finally, the digital watermark must be robust enough so that it can
withstand normal changes to the file, such as reductions from lossy
compression algorithms.
Digital Watermarking Q/A
Q: Who was caught in early 2004
releasing movie screeners, using digital
watermarking ?
A: Carmine Caridi. He distributed movie
copies sent to him as an Academy Awards
screener.
http://www.geraldpeary.com/essays/stuv/s
opranos.html
DMCA
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is a
controversial United States copyright law which
criminalizes production and dissemination of technology
that can circumvent measures taken to protect copyright,
not merely infringement of copyright itself, and heightens
the penalties for copyright infringement on the Internet.
Passed on May 14, 1998 by a unanimous vote in the
United States Senate and signed into law by President
Bill Clinton on October 28, 1998, the DMCA amended
title 17 of the US Code to extend the reach of copyright,
while limiting the liability of Online Providers from
copyright infringement by their users.
DMCA Q/A
Q: What is deCSS, and how does it relate
to the DMCA ?
A:
http://cse.stanford.edu/class/cs201/project
s-99-00/dmca-2k/css.html
See also:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_rights_
management