That Wasn’t Scripted! Why Scripted Viruses are Bad News

Scripted viruses are bad, and like all bad things need to be avoided, but that is easier said than done. A great thing about the Internet is that we are in constant communication with everyone we need to be, all over the world. The bad thing is that we are vulnerable to email viruses, worms and other bugs that crawl on the web. These things can damage computers, spy on us, report our browsing habits to marketers, or find our passwords and personal data and give it to cooks. Or they can just make life annoying by sending out emails that look as though they come from us, but don’t. Try explaining to everyone in your address book that it wasn’t you that sent the virus when it sure looked like it came from you.

One really nasty thing about scripted viruses is that they may not even need to have an email attachment opened to operate. Just reading the email could be enough to activate the script and start the process. Fortunately many web browsers have ways to stop those attacks. A browser may optionally, or if you wish automatically, disable scripts when it encounters them. Another way to stop scripted viruses is HTML stripping, which is a process in which HTML tags with an ability to interact with system functions are removed or disabled, leaving only the message text. Virus scanning software is also able to check both incoming and outgoing emails for viruses. However your virus software must be up to date, and far too many people have old virus software that they bought last year and haven’t updated since, which is worthless. Always make sure your virus software is up to date. A very sad story recently heard was of a small weekly newspaper with an editor who didn’t stay current with viruses. She took out a three year old copy of a popular anti virus program once a month and loaded it, thinking her computers were safe, and received a rather unpleasant surprise when the system was hit by a scripted virus and crashed the whole system.

If your computer becomes infected by a scripted virus it may go to your address book and try to spread itself to people whose addresses you have on file, much like the Borg of Star Trek, it will try to assimilate. This can sometimes by stopped by using encryption or an unusual format for your address book. It could also be beneficial for you to use software that isn’t quite as common as the average Microsoft product. Not that there is anything wrong with Microsoft, but they are the largest target and many hackers aim straight at them, so using something like Firefox for browsing and Thunderbird for email could solve the problem for you. If you prefer to stick with Microsoft products, when using Outlook or Outlook Express, turn off the scripting feature, which very few people use anyway, and increase your safety and security. Also learn all you can about your operating system. Windows 2000, Windows NT and Windows XP all have anti scripted virus features built in, as do some versions of Linix, and of the Macintosh operating system.

Many of the scripted viruses out there are worms which replicate themselves and move through a network. They will clone themselves and email themselves as attachments. Fortunately many of them are obnoxious but have no bad affect. Still they are to be avoided, so if any email looks suspicious don’t open it.

The people who write scripted viruses according to some interviews with a few who have been caught, think that what they are doing in spreading viruses is, for some reason, cool. The stereotype of a hacker virus writer is a goofy kid who lives in his parent’s basement. Some fit the stereotype, but many don’t. What they all have in common is a lack of respect for other people. Their viruses can do untold damage. Virus attacks have destroyed finished papers of college students, business records of small business people (costing them untold dollars out of pocket), destroyed hospital records causing many people loss of needed treatment, and untold thousand and thousands of hours of work destroyed for narcissist reasons by hackers. Make sure that you don’t become one of their victims and take precautions to avoid scripted virus attacks.

Top Five Spyware Threats to Internet Security

Spyware means any program that can change your computer system while gathering information about your activities while you are on the computer. The information is usually sent to the spyware creator via your internet connection without your knowledge. In order for it to work correctly, it must be able to run without the user shutting the computer down. Being hidden also helps the program to get installed in the first place. Because of this, spyware is usually disguised as a Trojan horse. This is a program that quietly runs in the background, inviting the user to run it, while spreading its malicious code. This code can do any number of things. It can start right away or it may simply install a program that won’t start for sometime. Once it does start, it can delete all of the files on the computer or it can infect the computer and try to infect other computers on the network. There are a number of ways spyware is delivered, and as a Trojan horse is the most common. It usually comes with other pieces of software that a user might find interesting. This software is usually shared through a file-sharing network or downloadable off of the internet. Once the user installs the software, the spyware also gets installed.

The most common reason spyware is infecting computers is for the profit of the spyware creator. In most cases, it gets information about the computer user and shows them pop-up ads related to their needs. It can even redirect internet search engine results to the benefit of the spyware creator. In addition to these things, spyware can infect your e-mail address book. Once this occurs, spam will be sent to every single person in every single infected address book. This spam will usually be an advertisement of some sort for the spyware creator’s website. Once infected with spyware, the creator can also profit from it by stealing important information like bank account information, credit card numbers, or contact information. It can steal the password information for your software licensing. Spyware can also take control of your modem to make expensive telephone calls from the creator. There are currently five major spyware threats to your internet security.

The first major spyware threat is Gator or GAIN. This program displays banner and pop-up ads based on your internet surfing habits. It comes bundled with many popular software programs. The major difference between Gator and most other spyware programs is that users are clearly notified of its download before it occurs.

Another major spyware threat is CoolWebSearch. This spyware can do a number of things. First, it can hijack your current internet settings, making things display wrong, and causing other system problems. It can reset your homepage, and despite the number of times you try to change it, you will be unable to reset it to your desired site. It can also take over your web searches, displaying only advertiser sites when you search for information on web items. It installs bookmarks to pornographic websites in your “Favorites” menu. It can cause your system to continually reboot. It can also cause serious system slow downs.

The third major spyware threat is 180searchassistant. This program has both pop-up and pop-under ads based on the user’s search terms. Moreover, once a site is clicked on, a new browser window opens to display more advertisements based on the search terms. It constantly updates by itself, and it can display pop-up ads even when the internet is not running. It can cause system slow downs.

The fourth major spyware threat to your internet security is ISTbar. This spyware program displays pornographic pop-ups, even when the internet is not in use. It can hijack your browser settings, reset your homepage, and cause continual cascading pop-ups while you are using the internet. It will continually download related files without your knowledge. Moreover, it can cause system slow downs.

The final major spyware threat to your internet security is Internet Optimizer. This program redirects your computer to its advertising sites. It also downloads and continually updates itself without your knowledge. The worst part about this spyware, though, is it leaves a back door open to your system so other viruses can penetrate your defenses.