One of the major concerns, especially for those who are new to the Internet, is the computer virus. These are generally confined to e-mails. Put simply, if you download an e-mail with a virus, an attached program will immediately start running, occasionally trashing key system files and invariably mailing itself automatically to everyone in your e-mail program’s address book.
In the last ten years, more than a thousand viruses have been put on the Internet. As fast as viruses are detected, the companies that produce virus protection, turn out updates to their software that can first detect and then eradicate any infection. Any computer user who does not cover himself by having such a piece of detection software on his machine and, even more important, who doesn’t regularly update that software to keep abreast of the latest attacks, is asking for trouble.
If he does pick up a contagion, there is every chance that he will pass that virus onto others. In the case of business-to-business communications, the conseqeuences can be relatively serious, as the Love Bug e-mail virus demonstrated last year. The mass of mail generated by this infection brought company systems grinding to a halt. But when all is said and done, though there was a great deal of time wasted, there was little serious damage caused by the Love Bug or indeed other viruses. Companies and individuals need to back up their important data and keep it somewhere safe away from their main computers. This is as true for individuals as it is for businesses. At worst hard discs have to be reformatted and systems and programs reinstalled.
Time costs money for sure, but if proper security processes are in place, both to detect and eradicate an infection immediately it arrives and also to protect key data, on a separate medium from the systems hard discs, then no lasting damage should be caused. There is however an arguably greater menace out there on the internet. And that is the hoax computer virus.
The latest, called SULFNBK.exe has just started doing the rounds. There have already been many thousands of hoaxes, nearly all of which warn people that if they even download an infected e-mail, their computer discs will be wiped clear of all data. It is perhaps a demonstration of the small-minded, selfishness of the people who originate these blights, that they very often copy most of the wording of earlier hoaxes, using their imaginations only to dream up a new name for the allegedly deadly infection. And always they insist that anyone reading their warning should forward it as quickly as possible to everyone they know. And this is where the trouble starts.
Ordinary users, especially novices will believe that they are doing their friends and acquaintances a favor by passing on news of the danger. Since forwarding mail is so simple, there may also be a grim satisfaction in being able to tell all the people in their address book that they are on the ball and can be the first to alert others to a virus. The sensible thing to do if you receive a virus warning from some well meaning friend or colleague, is to go to the web site of one of the companies making virus protection software and look in their news sections to see what is said about the alleged virus. Also check the archive for old viruses and hoaxes as well, since these things are sometime recycled.
Though there is an outside chance that the lists may not be up to date — the Love Bug started in the Phillipines and had infected much of Asia, the Middle East and Europe before it hit the Americans, who make most protection software — it is almost certain that you will be able to find out if your alert is real. If it is not, bin it and send a polite note to the original correspondent, suggesting that next time he himself first checks, as you did, before wasting other people’s time.
