Viruses

What are viruses?

Viruses are very small programs that have no other purpose than to spread themselves to as many computers as possible. The analogy to a biological virus is a good one. Viruses can spread from computer to computer, they can cause software damage and data loss, but there are vaccines against getting viruses.

While not every virus will erase your files on your hard drive, they should still be taken very seriously. With the rapid growth of the Internet, viruses are spreading even more rapidly. Viruses are also becoming more and more deadly. There are already thousands of different viruses and new ones emerge every week.

How does a computer get a virus?

Most viruses are spread through a floppy disk or from file attachments on e-mail. Once an infected disk is used in another computer, it copies itself onto that computer. Depending on the virus, it may strike immediately and cause problems, or it may lie dormant until a certain program is run or until a certain date occurs.

Viruses spread very rapidly. If you find that your computer has been infected, you should assume that every disk and computer that you work with or nearby is also infected. Failure to scan and disinfect every disk and computer will almost guarantee that the virus will re-emerge.

How do you remove a virus?

Viruses can only be removed by either re-formatting the infected media or with anti-virus software. The only way to fully ensure that a virus can be removed, you must boot-up from a write-protected floppy disk or CD-ROM and disinfect the media with anti-virus software.

Once you remove a virus, you must scan all of your disks and computers for any signs of infections.

Preventative Maintenance

• Make sure that all computers have anti-virus software installed (see recommendations below)

• Update your virus definition files from the manufacturer's website at least once a month

• Most viruses are spread via floppy disk and e-mail attachments - scan these before you allow them on your computer.

Risks

• Update your virus tools - definition files need to be updated weekly or else you may not detect the newest viruses

• Many times, a virus will re-emerge even after you remove it from a company. It usually comes back from a laptop or floppy disks that were not scanned the first time - make sure you thoroughly scan ALL computers and disks for viruses.

Antivirus Programs

Norton Antivirus - We recommend this antivirus program for people.

McAfee - Another good antivirus program.

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