SECTION3COMPUTERVIRUSES-PCC.pdfVIP

SECTION 3: COMPUTER VIRUSES One of the most familiar risks to computer security is the computer virus. A computer virus is a program that is written by a hacker or cracker and designed to perform some kind of trick upon an unsuspecting victim’s computer. In some cases, the trick is mild, such as drawing an offensive image on the screen or changing all of the characters in a document to another language. In other cases, the trick is much more severe, such as reformatting the hard drive and erasing all the data or damaging the motherboard so that it cannot operate properly. Types of Viruses Viruses can be categorized by their effects which include nuisance, data destruction, espionage, and hardware destruction. A nuisance virus usually does no real damage; it is just an inconvenience. In contrast, a data-destructive virus is designed to destroy data —the installed programs, documents, databases, and saved e-mails that form the heart of a personal computer and are the most difficult component of a computer to replace. The Espionage viruses are designed to bypass security by creating a backdoor into a system. These viruses do no damage but allow a hacker or cracker to enter the system later for the purpose of stealing data or spying on the work of a competitor. Very rarely, a virus is created that attempts to damage the hardware of the computer system itself. Called hardware-destructive viruses, these bits of programming can weaken or destroy chips, drives, and other components. Methods of Virus Operation Viruses operate and are transmitted in a variety of ways. Typically, an e-mail virus is transmitted as an attachment to a message sent over the Internet. E-mail viruses require the victim to click on the attachment to cause the virus to execute. Another common mode of virus transmission is via a macro, which is a small subprogram that allows users to customize and automate certain functions. A macro virus is written specifically for one progr