Internet Security ABC - That Wasn't Scripted! Why Scripted Viruses are Bad News

That Wasn't Scripted! Why Scripted Viruses are Bad News

Scripted viruses are bad, and like all bad things need to be avoided, but that is easier said than done. A great thing about the Internet is that we are in constant communication with everyone we need to be, all over the world. The bad thing is that we are vulnerable to email viruses, worms and other bugs that crawl on the web. These things can damage computers, spy on us, report our browsing habits to marketers, or find our passwords and personal data and give it to cooks. Or they can just make life annoying by sending out emails that look as though they come from us, but don't. Try explaining to everyone in your address book that it wasn't you that sent the virus when it sure looked like it came from you.

One really nasty thing about scripted viruses is that they may not even need to have an email attachment opened to

operate. Just reading the email could be enough to activate the script and start the process. Fortunately many web browsers have ways to stop those attacks. A browser may optionally, or if you wish automatically, disable scripts when it encounters them. Another way to stop scripted viruses is HTML stripping, which is a process in which HTML tags with an ability to interact with system functions are removed or disabled, leaving only the message text. Virus scanning software is also able to check both incoming and outgoing emails for viruses. However your virus software must be up to date, and far too many people have old virus software that they bought last year and haven't updated since, which is worthless. Always make sure your virus software is up to date. A very sad story recently heard was of a small weekly newspaper with an editor who didn't stay current with viruses. She took out a three year old copy of a popular anti virus program once a month and loaded it, thinking her computers were safe, and received a rather unpleasant surprise when the system was hit by a scripted virus and crashed the whole system.

If your computer becomes infected by a scripted virus it may go to your address book and try to spread itself to people whose addresses you have on file, much like the Borg of Star Trek, it will try to assimilate. This can sometimes by stopped by using encryption or an unusual format for your address book. It could also be beneficial for you to use software that isn't quite as common as the average Microsoft product. Not that there is anything wrong with Microsoft, but they are the largest target and many hackers aim straight at them, so using something like Firefox for browsing and Thunderbird for email could solve the problem for you. If you prefer to stick with Microsoft products, when using Outlook or Outlook Express, turn off the scripting feature, which very few people use anyway, and increase your safety and security. Also learn all you can about your operating system. Windows 2000, Windows NT and Windows XP all have anti scripted virus features built in, as do some versions of Linix, and of the Macintosh operating system.

Many of the scripted viruses out there are worms which replicate themselves and move through a network. They will clone themselves and email themselves as attachments. Fortunately many of them are obnoxious but have no bad affect. Still they are to be avoided, so if any email looks suspicious don't open it.

The people who write scripted viruses according to some interviews with a few who have been caught, think that what they are doing in spreading viruses is, for some reason, cool. The stereotype of a hacker virus writer is a goofy kid who lives in his parent's basement. Some fit the stereotype, but many don't. What they all have in common is a lack of respect for other people. Their viruses can do untold damage. Virus attacks have destroyed finished papers of college students, business records of small business people (costing them untold dollars out of pocket), destroyed hospital records causing many people loss of needed treatment, and untold thousand and thousands of hours of work destroyed for narcissist reasons by hackers. Make sure that you don't become one of their victims and take precautions to avoid scripted virus attacks.

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