Computer Viruses For Dummies E-Book

Peter H. Gregory

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Wissenschaft und neue Technologien
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 348

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2011

Beschreibung

Computer viruses--just the thought of your trusty PC catching one is probably enough to make you sick. Thanks to the cyber-sickies who persist in coming up with new strains, there's a major new cyberattack nearly every day. Viruses sneak in, usually through e-mail. Fortunately, there are ways to inoculate and protect your computer. Computer Viruses For Dummies helps you: * Understand the risks and analyze your PC's current condition * Select, install, and configure antivirus software * Scan your computer and e-mail * Rid your computer of viruses it's already caught * Update antivirus software and install security patches * Use firewalls and spyware blockers * Protect handheld PDAs from viruses * Adopt safe computing practices, especially with e-mail and when you're surfing the Net Written by Peter H. Gregory, coauthor of CISSP For Dummies and Security + For Dummies, Computer Viruses For Dummies goes beyond viruses to explain other nasty computer infections like Trojan horses, HiJackers, worms, phishing scams, spyware, and hoaxes. It also profiles major antivirus software to help you choose the best program(s) for your needs. Remember, if you don't protect your computer, not only do you risk having your computer infiltrated and your data contaminated, you risk unknowingly transmitting a virus, worm, or other foul computer germ to everybody in your address book! This guide will help you properly immunize your PC with antivirus software now and install updates and security patches that are like booster shots to keep your software protected against new viruses.

Leseprobe

Computer Viruses For Dummies®

by Peter Gregory

Computer Viruses For Dummies®

Published byWiley Publishing, Inc.111 River St.Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774www.wiley.com

Copyright © 2004 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, [phone], fax [phone]. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Legal Department, Wiley Publishing, Inc., 10475 Crosspoint Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46256, [phone], fax [phone], e-mail: [email protected].

Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the Rest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com, and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: THE PUBLISHER AND THE AUTHOR MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS WORK AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. NO WARRANTY MAY BE CREATED OR EXTENDED BY SALES OR PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS. THE ADVICE AND STRATEGIES CONTAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR EVERY SITUATION. THIS WORK IS SOLD WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THE PUBLISHER IS NOT ENGAGED IN RENDERING LEGAL, ACCOUNTING, OR OTHER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES. IF PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE IS REQUIRED, THE SERVICES OF A COMPETENT PROFESSIONAL PERSON SHOULD BE SOUGHT. NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR THE AUTHOR SHALL BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES ARISING HEREFROM. THE FACT THAT AN ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE IS REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK AS A CITATION AND/OR A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF FURTHER INFORMATION DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE AUTHOR OR THE PUBLISHER ENDORSES THE INFORMATION THE ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE MAY PROVIDE OR RECOMMENDATIONS IT MAY MAKE. FURTHER, READERS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT INTERNET WEBSITES LISTED IN THIS WORK MAY HAVE CHANGED OR DISAPPEARED BETWEEN WHEN THIS WORK WAS WRITTEN AND WHEN IT IS READ.

For general information on our other products and services or to obtain technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 800-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax [phone].

Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2004107888

ISBN: 0-7645-7418-3

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

10/RQ/QY/QU/IN

About the Author

Peter H. Gregory, CISA, CISSP, discovered computers in 1976 in his first year at the University of Nevada-Reno. He was taking a FORTRAN programming course when computer programs were painstakingly typed in on punch cards (hanging chads and all). He then got a part-time computer operator job at the University computer center, where he operated the university’s mainframe computer, a Control Data Corporation CDC-6400. His insatiable curiosity about computers led him headlong into a career that began when he completed his university education.

Those fancy letters behind Peter’s name: CISSP and CISA, are two professional security certifications: Certified Information Systems Security Professional and Certified Information Systems Auditor. Peter has spent the past eleven years in the wireless telecommunications industry, working in positions where he develops security policy, security architecture, security emergency response teams, and has been a security consultant in general. His love for personal computers has kept him attached to one or more of them for twenty years.

Author’s Acknowledgments

I would like to extend thanks to great folks at Trend Micro (Michael Sweeny in the U.S. and Del Gemmell in Taiwan) and Panda Software (Alan Wallace in California, Jose Javier Merchan, and especially Fernando de la Cuadra in Spain), who provided information as well as dozens of screen shots. Special thanks go to Jennifer Byrne at Symantec who provided invaluable feedback on the draft table of contents, resulting in numerous improvements. Nalleli Lopez Hosek and David Alderman read the entire draft manuscript and made numerous productive suggestions to make the book easier to read and understand. Thanks you two! Tim Crothers worked hard to ensure the technical accuracy of the book.

Special thanks go to Eva Neumann, who provided invaluable feedback from her perspective as a non-professional computer user. Many thanks to my immediate and extended family for tolerating the book writing process yet again. I’d like to dedicate this book to the memory of Ralph Pratt who showed me how to teach complex subjects to non-technical people.

And thanks be to God, through whom all things are possible.

Publisher’s Acknowledgments

We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our online registration form located at www.dummies.com/register/.

Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:

Acquisitions, Editorial, and Media Development

Project Editor: Kyle Looper

Acquisitions Editor: Melody Layne

Copy Editor: Barry Childs-Helton

Technical Editor: Tim Crothers

Editorial Manager: Leah P. Cameron

Media Development Manager: Laura VanWinkle

Media Development Supervisor: Richard Graves

Editorial Assistant: Amanda Foxworth

Cartoons: Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com)

Production

Project Coordinator: Courtney MacIntyre

Layout and Graphics: Andrea Dahl, Lauren Goddard, Denny Hager, Joyce Haughey, Michael Kruzil, Jacque Schneider

Proofreaders: Carl William Pierce, TECHBOOKS Production Services

Indexer: TECHBOOKS Production Services

Special Help Dru Hoskins

Publishing and Editorial for Technology Dummies

Richard Swadley, Vice President and Executive Group Publisher

Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher

Mary Bednarek, Executive Acquisitions Director

Mary C. Corder, Editorial Director

Publishing for Consumer Dummies

Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher

Joyce Pepple, Acquisitions Director

Composition Services

Gerry Fahey, Vice President of Production Services

Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services

Contents

Title

Introduction

About This Book

How This Book Is Organized

Conventions Used in This Book

What You’re Not to Read

Meanings of the Term “Virus”

Foolish Assumptions

Icons Used in This Book

Where to Go from Here

Write to Us!

Part I : Evaluating Your Virus Situation

Chapter 1: Understanding Virus Risks

Assessing the Threat to Your Computer

Deciding How Much Security Is Enough

Chapter 2: Does My Computer Have a Virus?

Looking at Common Virus Symptoms

Finding and Fixing a Virus

Developing Good Habits

Finding Out More about Viruses

Chapter 3: Does Your Computer Have Antivirus Software?

Understanding Antivirus Software

Looking Around for Antivirus Icons

Asking at Your Place of Purchase

Checking the Health of Your Antivirus Software

Part II : Deploying Your Antivirus Defenses

Chapter 4: Obtaining and Installing Antivirus Software

Sticking with Name Brands You Know

Considering Important Antivirus Features

Upgrading and Switching Brands

Checking Out the Purchasing Venues

Installing Antivirus Software

Chapter 5: Configuring Antivirus Software

Setting Your Computer Boot Options

Configuring Automatic Protection

Scheduling Scans

Scheduling Updates

Configuring Heuristics

Configuring E-Mail Protection

Configuring Instant Messaging Protection

Chapter 6: Scanning Your Computer and E-Mail

Deciding to Scan Your Computer File-by-File

Scanning for Viruses

Scheduling Scans

Evaluating Online Scanning Services

Scanning E-mail

Chapter 7: Ridding Your Computer of Viruses

Interpreting Warning Messages

Finding Quarantined Files

Repairing Your System

Part III : Maintaining Your Vigilance

Chapter 8: Updating Antivirus Software and Signatures

Getting a Signature Update

Deciding How Often to Get Updates

Getting Updates

Scanning after an Update

Chapter 9: Installing Security Patches

Figuring Out Why You Need Security Patches

Scrutinizing Security Patches

Preparing to Install Security Patches

Installing Security Patches

Installing Service Packs

Removing Patches

Chapter 10: Using Firewalls and Spyware Blockers

Protecting Your Computer with a Firewall

Dealing with Spyware

Chapter 11: Protecting PDAs from Viruses

PDAs Grow Up (And Grow Vulnerable)

Understanding Why Antivirus Software Is Needed for PDAs

Installing and Configuring Antivirus Software on PDAs

Protecting Your PDA in Other Ways

Protecting and Securing Your Computer

Chapter 12: Incorporating Safe Computing Practices

Backing Up Your Data Regularly

Installing Only Programs Known to Be Safe

Saving Your License Information

Securing Your Web Browser

Keeping Alternate E-Mail Accounts

Surfing the Web Safely

Sharing Personal Information Carefully

Adding Parental Internet Blockers

Avoiding Spam

Blocking Spyware

Using Public Computers

Part IV : Looking at Viruses under the Microscope

Chapter 13: Viruses and the Losers Who Write Them

Invasion of the Computer Viruses

How Viruses Have Evolved with the Times

How Early Viruses Spread from Computer to Computer

The People Who Write Viruses

The Origins of Antivirus Tools

Chapter 14: Trojan Horses, Worms, Spam, and Hoaxes

Trojan Horses: Misleading Tricks

Phishing Scams: Skilled Imposters

Worms: Viruses on Autopilot

Hostile Web Sites: Caution — Contains Poison

Scams and Fraud

Hoaxes: Preying on Gullibility

Chapter 15: How Viruses Function and Propagate

Types of Viruses

How Viruses Propagate

Part V : The Part of Tens

Chapter 16: Almost Ten Myths about Computer Viruses

My Computer Stopped — I Must Have a Virus

I Have Antivirus Software, So My Computer Can’t Get a Virus

All Viruses Are Destructive

Viruses Can Damage Computer Hardware

Viruses Can Hide inside Data Files

Pictures Can Give You Computer Viruses

I Need More Than One Antivirus Software Program to Be Fully Protected

You Can’t Get a Virus from an Official Software CD

Antivirus Software Companies Create Viruses

Some Countries Sponsor Virus Writers and Hackers

Chapter 17: Ten Antivirus Programs

Command Antivirus

eTrust EZ Armor

F-Prot for Windows

F-Secure

Kaspersky

McAfee

NOD32 Antivirus System

Norton AntiVirus

Panda Antivirus Platinum

PC-Cillin

Vexira Antivirus for Windows

Introduction

It would be difficult to describe the impact of viruses — and their cousins Trojan horses and worms — without resorting to clichés or sensationalism. But after all the hoopla, the bottom line is pretty simple: Malicious people write viruses, and viruses do bad things to our computers. Over the past two decades, viruses have caused billions of dollars in damage and lost productivity — and that’s just the impact on businesses. Viruses hit home computer users much harder because home users usually don’t have information-technology support departments to install and maintain antivirus software and repair damaged computers.

But viruses can be stopped before they stop us, and it’s not hard to stop them. Getting antivirus software is part of the solution. Using antivirus software is just a matter of doing a few simple chores to make sure that everything is working correctly: the better antivirus programs available today do all the regular tasks automatically, and only rarely do they require you to do something special.

If the information on your computer is important to you, then it’s worth protecting. You can do several things to help protect your computer and the information stored in it. The Internet is not exactly a friendly place; in fact it can be quite hostile and unforgiving to those who are unable to protect themselves. But since you have either purchased or borrowed this book, you’re on the verge of being able to get rid of the viruses on your computer and keep them away for good. It’s all within your grasp!