Computer Viruses
Dangers
What
is a virus?
Essentially,
a virus is a mini-computer program that was specifically written to harm
computers. Viruses can range from a simple program that causes invalid
error messages to appear to a malicious virus that destroys your hard
drive -- leaving your computer inoperable.
How
might I get a virus?
In general,
a virus must be executed -- which means it must be opened or launched
by your action. Sometimes viruses are contained in a Macro (sub program
that exists within a program such as Microsoft Word) or they are a stand-alone
executable. You can get a virus from an E-mail attachment, a document
that has a virus, or from an active program such as ActiveX.
Can
I catch a virus by looking at a Web page?
No.
Viewing images, filling out forms and so on will not place viruses on
your computer. Most likely you will have no problems after downloading
a program from a respectable source with a reputation to protect. But
be cautious with ActiveX controls and only use those that display a security
certificate when they begin to load.
Your
computer can catch a virus if you download an executable program from
an untrustworthy site and then run it (for example, by double clicking
on it in your file manager). The same goes for files (such as Microsoft®
Word® documents) that contain executable parts (such as Word®
macros). You also run the same risk when downloading programs from bulletin
board systems, via anonymous FTP or E-mail.
How
to Protect Yourself
- Avoid
downloading E-mail attachments from people you don't know.
- If you receive
an attachment with an extension other than .jpg, .gif, .doc or any other
format that you are familiar with do not open it until you speak with
the sender to verify content.
- Do not open
a file ending in .exe if you do not know what it is.
- If you are
opening a Word document and it asks if you wish to run Macros -- select
"No" unless you were expecting a macro.
- Beware--
someone you know may send a virus and not know they have it. Read any
documentation you have to understand Macros.
