Some Common Myths About Computer Viruses.

The purpose of this article is to provide you with basic information and clarification to some of the common myths about computer viruses and some practical steps to avoid them. In order to do this, it is important that you understand the definition of a computer virus, in simple terms, and how it can affect you through email and other means.

What is a Computer Virus?

"It is a Software Program used to infect a computer. After the virus program is written, it is buried within or attached to another "Harmless" program. When the "Harmless" program is executed, the virus program is activated and attaches copies of itself to other programs in the system or makes copies of itself and sends them out through email.

Infected programs repetitively copy the virus to other programs. The effect of the virus may be a simple prank that pops up a message on your computer screen, or it may destroy programs and data. It can do this right away or on a certain date. It can lie dormant and do its damage once a year. For example, the Michelangelo virus contaminates the machine on Michelangelo's birthday."

"In 1996, the National Computer Security Association claimed that only about 5% of the more than 6,000 known viruses are harmful. The majority are benign and are more like pranks created for the sheer art of programming." (Source: The Computer Desktop Encyclopedia - second edition)

What does a virus do?

For now, it's enough to understand that viruses are potentially destructive software that spreads from program to program or from disk to disk. Computer viruses, like biological viruses, need a host to infect; in the case of computer viruses this host is an innocent program, such as a word processor or a game.

Even though some viruses do not intentionally damage your data, we consider all viruses to be malicious software since they modify your programs without your permission with occasional disastrous results. The Truth is, that if you have a virus, you are no longer in control of your PC. Every time you start up your PC or start a program the virus may also be opening and spreading its infection. See more on how viruses work here.

Another way of looking at viruses is simply, to consider them to be a program, which can create copies of itself. These copies are inserted in other programs (infecting these programs). When one of these other programs is executed, the virus (which was inserted in that program) executes, and places copies of itself in even more programs.

What is the myth about email viruses?

Does this sound familiar: "Don't read or open any e-mail titled Good Times! It will destroy your computer!" Many of you have received e-mails warning you about reading a specific e-mail sent to you, going by a certain name (e.g.- "Good Times," etc.). These warnings tell you your computer will face certain doom if you open these e-mails and read them.

The Truth Is

"YOU CANNOT GET A VIRUS OR ANY SYSTEM DAMAGING SOFTWARE BY READING A PLAIN TEXT EMAIL MESSAGE".

Email (that is, the Actual Text message) cannot contain executable viruses. A virus cannot exist in an email Text message or newsgroup message posting or simply "float around" the Internet. Viruses and other system-destroying bugs can only exist in EXECUTABLE FILES, and since an email Text message is not an executable file, viruses cannot exist there.

While reading an email Text message you are not allowing any malicious code to activate! Thus, no virus can "Come Alive". HOWEVER, if you (or your computer) download a FILE attached to an email or newsgroup posting and click on it so it RUNS, there is a chance that the file could contain a virus, since an executable file could contain a virus. Executable files are not just files with the extension of ".EXE" but also ".COM", ".BAT", ".VBS" and ".DOC" or ".WKS", etc. Those files which contain Executable instructions for Word Processors or Spreadsheet Programs or Database Procedures can all also contain Harmful instructions for your computer.

It is therefore, very important that you DO NOT, under any circumstances, allow your e-mail program to automatically execute an attached file. You risk infection by doing so! Very few email filters offer this kind of protection. Mailbox Filter has a feature called Smart Lock which prevents this sort of thing from happening. It simply locks potentially harmful file types from opening.

There is more information for you about this special feature in Mailbox Filter here.

In our next article Is Your Anti-Virus Program Enough? I will provide some important things to remember about viruses. Also included is important steps you should know to dramatically reduce your chances of getting a computer virus.

Hope this was helpful!

Sincerely,
Robert Jensen

Your Spam Control Advisor