Viruses, Firewalls, Hoaxes and Fixes

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Viruses, Firewalls, Hoaxes and Fixes

• Brian Flanigan
• Wendy Sorenson
• Stephanie Hopkins

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Computer Viruses

• What are Computer Viruses?
• Where do Computer Viruses come from?
• The history of the Computer Virus.
• How to protect yourself from a Computer Virus.

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What are Computer Viruses

• A Computer Virus passes from computer to
  computer like a biological virus, from person to
  person.
• A Computer Virus must piggyback a program or
  document in order to execute.
• The most common way to get a Computer Virus is
  through the Internet.

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History of the Computer Virus

• Computer Viruses came on the seen in the late
  1980s with the phone modem.
• Bulletin Boards were the target, these were
  simple games and spreadsheets used by phone.
• The Trojan Horse was the second point of
  attack, these were documents that sounded cool so
  you downloaded them, through the Internet.
• The Floppy Disk was the last to be picked on,
  these viruses infiltrated your computer through
  your Operating System.

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How to prevent Computer Viruses

• The Computer Viruses wouldnt be so despised if
  all they did was replicate, but they also attack
  and do damage to your computer.
• So to prevent these damages you could run a
  secure operating system like UNIX (costly).
• Buying virus protecting software is the most
  common way to defend yourself, i.e.. McAfee.
• Overall, just avoid programs from unknown
  sources and never open E-mail attachments from
  people you do not know.

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What is a Firewall?

• Basically a firewall serves as a
  protective barrier to keep destructive forces
  from your property.

It is comparative to a physical firewall that
keeps fire from spreading from one area to the
next.
A firewall can stop hackers, but only if the
user tells the firewall to block this traffic.
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Why is a Firewall Necessary?

• While the only way to fully protect your computer
  is to turn it off, a firewall can at least
  provide sufficient security when one's computer
  is connected to the Internet.

• Installing a security system makes it more
  difficult for individuals to gain unlawful access
  to one's computer.

It allows the user to block programs from
accessing his/her computer. In essence, it is
similar to the homeowner preventing whom cannot
enter his/her home.
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What Does a Firewall Protect Against?

• There are many ways in which individuals can
  access or abuse unprotected computers.

• Some of these ways include

• Remote login-when an individual is able to
  connect to someone else's computer and control
  it.

• Operating System Bugs- some operating system (ex.
  Windows XP) have backdoors. Some have
  insufficient security, along with bugs which an
  experienced hacker can take advantage of.

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Continued

• Denial of Service- the hacker can cause a site
  to slow or even crash.

• Emails Bombs- someone sends the same email
  hundreds of times causing your email system to no
  longer accept messages.

• Spam- can contain links, which if accidentally
  clicked could allow a cookie to the backdoor of
  your computer.

http//computer.howstuffworks.com/firewall.htm
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Hoax Categories Malicious Code (Virus and
Trojan) Warning Urban Myths Give Aways
Inconsequential Warnings Sympathy Letters and
Requests to Help Someone Traditional Chain
Letters Threat Letters Scam Chains Scare
Chains Jokes True Legends Hacked
History Unknown Origins
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There are two factors that make a Hoax successful

• Technical sounding language.
• Credibility by association.

An example of a Known Hoax is
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Recognizing a Hoax
A hook
A threat
A request
Virus Hoaxes are false reports about non-existent
viruses, often claiming to do impossible things.
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Why people Send Hoax Messages

• To see how far a letter will go.
• To harass another person.
• To bilk money out of people using a pyramid
  scheme.
• To kill some other chain letter.
• To damage a persons or organizations reputation.

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Hoaxbusters
http//hoaxbusters.ciac.org/HBHoaxCategories.html
McAfee Security
http//vil.mcafee.com/hoax.asp
Snopes
http//www.snopes.com/computer/virus/virus.htm
Virus Hoax Busters
http//www.stockhelp.net/virus.html