Published: October 23, 2006
Computer viruses are small software programs that are designed to spread from one computer to another and to interfere with computer operation.
A virus might corrupt or delete data on your computer, use your e-mail program to spread itself to other computers, or even erase everything on your hard disk.
Viruses are most easily spread by attachments in e-mail messages or instant messaging messages. That is why it is essential that you never open e-mail attachments unless you know who it's from and you are expecting it.
Viruses can be disguised as attachments of funny images, greeting cards, or audio and video files.
Viruses also spread through downloads on the Internet. They can be hidden in illicit software or other files or programs you might download.
To help avoid viruses, it's essential that you keep your computer current with the latest updates and antivirus tools, stay informed about recent threats, and that you follow a few basic rules when you surf the Internet, download files, and open attachments.
Once a virus is on your computer, its type or the method it used to get there is not as important as removing it and preventing further infection.
Source: http://www.microsoft.com/protect/computer/basics/virus.mspx
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
MyDoom virus declared worst ever
By David Becker
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
The MyDoom e-mail virus is only a few days old and still growing, but at least one security firm is ready to crown it as the worst ever.
Finnish security software and services company F-Secure made the coronation late Wednesday, declaring MyDoom the fastest-spreading worm ever and "the worst e-mail worm incident in virus history" in a letter research director Mikko Hypponen wrote.
MyDoom raced onto the Internet on Monday, quickly clogging e-mail servers, as it propagated itself with millions of messages laden with malicious software code. An offshoot of the pest surfaced Wednesday but did not appear to be spreading nearly as quickly as the original.
F-Secure estimated that the worm was accounting for 20 percent to 30 percent of worldwide e-mail traffic Wednesday, putting it well ahead of previous nasties, such as the SoBig.F worm.
F-Secure credited the worm's fast spread to several factors, including aggressive harvesting of e-mail addresses and the fact that it was released in the middle of the North American workday, giving it several hours to spread unchecked among corporate networks.
Other security companies had evaluations almost as dire. MessageLabs, which screens e-mail, said it had intercepted more than 3.4 million copies of MyDoom, which infected one of every 12 messages at its peak. That compares with a total of 33 million infections and a peak rate of one in 17 for SoBig.F. MyDoom had already climbed to No. 5 on MessageLabs' list of the all-time most active viruses, surpassing previous annoyances such as SirCam.
Security software and services company Network Associates estimated on Thursday that between 400,000 and 500,000 PCs worldwide had been infected by MyDoom. Infection rates were averaging one out of every 10 messages for large customers and one out of three for small customers, indicating that the virus concentrates on PCs in the home, where security precautions are often less stringent than in the office.
"We do believe that home users represent the larger piece of the pie for infected systems," said Craig Schmugar, a virus research manager for Network Associates' McAfee division.
Schmugar said home users usually wait to download virus definitions and removal tools. "The weekend is a good time to do that, so we expect there'll be a good downturn Monday" in the number of infected systems, he said.
Sharon Ruckman, senior director at security software maker Symantec's Security Response center, said MyDoom generated an impressive volume of e-mail traffic at its peak Tuesday. But businesses and e-mail providers were much better prepared for the assault than with previous bugs, limiting MyDoom's damage.
"It's hard to compare it with LoveLetter and Melissa, where corporate e-mail systems were actually taken offline," she said. "Enterprises have good security systems in place, so they're seeing (MyDoom) trying to get in and blocking it."
Source: http://news.com.com/2100-7349-5149764.html?tag=nl
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
The MyDoom e-mail virus is only a few days old and still growing, but at least one security firm is ready to crown it as the worst ever.
Finnish security software and services company F-Secure made the coronation late Wednesday, declaring MyDoom the fastest-spreading worm ever and "the worst e-mail worm incident in virus history" in a letter research director Mikko Hypponen wrote.
MyDoom raced onto the Internet on Monday, quickly clogging e-mail servers, as it propagated itself with millions of messages laden with malicious software code. An offshoot of the pest surfaced Wednesday but did not appear to be spreading nearly as quickly as the original.
F-Secure estimated that the worm was accounting for 20 percent to 30 percent of worldwide e-mail traffic Wednesday, putting it well ahead of previous nasties, such as the SoBig.F worm.
F-Secure credited the worm's fast spread to several factors, including aggressive harvesting of e-mail addresses and the fact that it was released in the middle of the North American workday, giving it several hours to spread unchecked among corporate networks.
Other security companies had evaluations almost as dire. MessageLabs, which screens e-mail, said it had intercepted more than 3.4 million copies of MyDoom, which infected one of every 12 messages at its peak. That compares with a total of 33 million infections and a peak rate of one in 17 for SoBig.F. MyDoom had already climbed to No. 5 on MessageLabs' list of the all-time most active viruses, surpassing previous annoyances such as SirCam.
Security software and services company Network Associates estimated on Thursday that between 400,000 and 500,000 PCs worldwide had been infected by MyDoom. Infection rates were averaging one out of every 10 messages for large customers and one out of three for small customers, indicating that the virus concentrates on PCs in the home, where security precautions are often less stringent than in the office.
"We do believe that home users represent the larger piece of the pie for infected systems," said Craig Schmugar, a virus research manager for Network Associates' McAfee division.
Schmugar said home users usually wait to download virus definitions and removal tools. "The weekend is a good time to do that, so we expect there'll be a good downturn Monday" in the number of infected systems, he said.
Sharon Ruckman, senior director at security software maker Symantec's Security Response center, said MyDoom generated an impressive volume of e-mail traffic at its peak Tuesday. But businesses and e-mail providers were much better prepared for the assault than with previous bugs, limiting MyDoom's damage.
"It's hard to compare it with LoveLetter and Melissa, where corporate e-mail systems were actually taken offline," she said. "Enterprises have good security systems in place, so they're seeing (MyDoom) trying to get in and blocking it."
Source: http://news.com.com/2100-7349-5149764.html?tag=nl
Cara-Cara Scan Komputer
Apabila komputer kita dijangkiti oleh virus/spyware, sudah tentunya kita akan scan menggunakan antivirus yang kita pakai. Tetapi, tahukah anda bahawa virus tetap masih berada di dalam komputer kita terutamanya di dalam System Files serta men"disable"kan folder options, task manager, run command dan sebagainya.
Berikut adalah langkah-langkah yang disyorkan untuk scan komputer kita.
Berikut adalah langkah-langkah yang disyorkan untuk scan komputer kita.
- Update antivirus definition
- Buka RRT dan pilih AutoRemove untuk meng"enable"kan folder options, run serta task manager.
- Klik start menu & klik Run
- Seterusnya, type MSCONFIG dan tekan enter
- Klik bahagian Startup dan klik Disable All (untuk menghalang virus daripada "run" ketika windows restarting).
- Restart komputer anda
- Tekan F8 (banyak kali) ketika komputer anda restarting
- Pilih SafeMode
- Klik Anti-Virus anda
- Scan seperti biasa
Anda akan melihat sendiri perbezaan scan melalui Safemode ini :)
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