Viruses, Worms, Spyware,
and Other Perils of an OnLine World
Computer Services Tech Talk
September 23, 2003
What is a Virus?
A computer program designed to selfreplicate
Often contain “payloads” ranging from
annoying (displaying messages) to
disastrous (deleting/altering files)
Viruses are written and distributed by
people, they do not just appear
Even “nondestructive” viruses use up
system resources and time
How Viruses Spread
Boot sectors
Documents (Macro viruses, VB Script
viruses)
Email attachments
Peer-to-peer apps (KaZaa, Morpheus)
System vulnerabilities (Microsoft DCOM)
Virus Hoaxes
False reports about non-existent viruses
Often claim to be issued by software or
virus companies (AOL, Microsoft)
Often claim to do impossible things
Usually contain instructions for the user,
e.g. send email to others, delete a file
What Computer Services Does
Scans all email messages for viruses
Protects servers against known vulnerabilities
Operates firewalls and gateways to block virus
activity
Maintains virus scanning software for campus
use
Monitors virus activity on the Internet, and alerts
the College whenever a virus poses a threat to
campus users
Spyware
Software that monitors your activity – web sites
visited, files downloaded
Reports activity to the “mother ship”, usually so
information can be sold to advertisers
Almost always installed without your knowledge
Can record information silently, or cause a
variety of problems, e.g. pop-up messages,
browser hijacking
Almost all file sharing apps come with spyware
Protecting Your Computer
Find updated information at
http://www.wabash.edu/technology/
Patch your computer
(http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com)
Scan for viruses (scanner on scholar.sys)
For home computer, install (and regularly
update) virus scanning software
Install and run Spybot Search and Destroy
to find and remove Spyware