Home >> Administration >> Information Systems
Fri, November 20, 2009

Announcements

 

Twitter

Facebook

Virus Precautions

Email attachments are one of the most common ways to get and spread a virus. The following guidelines will help to recognize potential viruses and protect your computer and your data. Do not open the following types of attachments:

If you get an email like any of the above examples or anything you are not sure what it is, DO NOT OPEN, DELETE IT IMMEDIATELY! If in doubt delete, or contact the person who sent it to see what it is. It is better to be safe than sorry.

Virus Hoaxes

The propagation of virus hoaxes is almost as bad as the viruses themselves. Below are some ways to recognize these annoyances so you aren't passing the annoyance on to someone else.

Virus hoaxes--warnings about computer viruses that don't really exist--are quite common. Somebody with too much time on their hands writes a fake virus warning, spreads it anonymously via e-mail, and the fun begins: the warning gets forwarded, in some cases to thousands or even tens of thousands of people, generating inbox clutter, anxiety and unnecessary Internet traffic. In the worst cases, virus hoaxes can choke mail systems because of the volume of e-mail they generate. Fortunately, virus hoaxes tend to be easy to recognize and stop. Here are some common signs from the typical content of a hoax:

"Not many people know about this virus"
This line, or some variant of it, is pretty much a dead giveaway. You won't see this in a legitimate virus warning.

"This virus was just announced by [a major, well-known information technology company]"
Microsoft and IBM are the favorites here, because the author of the hoax can be pretty sure you've heard of them, and they're trying to sound legitimate. But does the message tell you where to find this "announcement"? Did Microsoft or IBM, in fact, announce this virus? If you can't confirm what the message says, it's probably a hoax.

"Please warn everyone you know!"
There's a variant of this instruction in almost all virus hoaxes, because that's what the hoax author wants you to do: send out a lot of useless e-mail messages! No legitimate virus warning will tell you to do this. If you see this advice in a virus warning, don't do it!

The warning is unsigned
Read the warning carefully to see if you can tell who originally wrote it. In most cases, you'll get a hoax from someone who got it from somebody else, who got it from somebody else, and so on. Virus hoaxes are often forwarded many times (in itself, this is a strong indicator that it's a fake). The warning should be signed by a legitimate organization that originated the warning, and you should find and visit that organization's web site to verify the existence of the virus. If you can't tell who the author is, chances are very good that--you guessed it--it's a hoax.

If you get a virus warning in an e-mail message and you're debating whether or not to pass it on, assess it against the signs above. If it has these characteristics, break the chain--don't send it on. If you're not sure, here are two things you can do: check the McAfee virus encyclopedia to see if the virus is listed there. If it's a real virus, they'll have it listed, together with information about how to protect yourself from it--a far better source of information to pass on in any case. They may, however, list it as a hoax. Alternatively, check McAfee's list of virus hoaxes, and see if yours is in the list. If you discover a hoax, reply to the person who sent you the warning and tell them they've been hoaxed, and should STOP sending this message.

Other Dangerous Software

Viruses and other malicious software can also show up on your PC by down loading files from the Internet or using file-sharing software. A common downloaded piece of software that causes havoc on PCs is Webshots screen saver software. Webshots can slow down your PC, interfere with other software and cause your PC to lockup. If this isn’t bad enough when you install Webshots potentially malicious cookies and Spyware are also installed on your PC. Because of the well-documented problems with Webshots, it has been banned at many companies and universities, and we are asking that it not be installed on Logan City computers.

Also, file sharing programs such as Kazaa, MusicCity, Morpheus, LimeWire, Direct Connect, eDonkey, and other Napster clones, have a negative impact on our network. These types of programs put a huge strain on our network connections to the point where our network and T1 lines are saturated with these transfers and no legitimate traffic can get through. These file sharing programs also bring up legal issues about unauthorized or illegal use of copyright © material. It is against City policy to use any software or copyright material without proper licensing or permission. And, if all this isn't bad enough, nearly all of the file-swapping programs now routinely come bundled with so-called adware or spyware.

Spyware is software, usually downloaded for free from the Internet that sends information from the user's computer without their knowledge whenever the computer connects to the Internet. Usually the information sent is benign in nature, mostly concerned with general marketing information (i.e., spending and surfing habits) rather than specific information like credit card numbers, although some programs are capable of retrieving specific information as well. The problem with Spyware lies in the fact that this information is transmitted without informed consent. Spyware does not respect your privacy. Some of this Spyware can actually take control of your PC without your knowledge and use your processing power for someone else's purposes or do anything they want with your PC. Additionally, Spyware programs are sometimes poorly written, containing bugs and causing the computer to malfunction.

Adware is advertising supported software. It is software that can be downloaded free from the web, but contains banner advertisements that create revenue for the company. Adware will usually, like Spyware, install components on your computer that will send marketing information whenever you are online. Unlike Spyware, Adware may contain a disclosure telling you that they will be using your information, that is if actually read all the fine print garbage!

All of the above-mentioned software also leaves big security holes on your PC and our network. While on the surface they may seem harmless they are potentially very destructive. These programs or any like them are not to be used on Logan City's hardware or network. If you have any questions about any software, or if you have any of the above types of programs installed, contact the IS department for help in removing them. In most cases you can't get rid of the Spyware and other security holes simply by uninstalling the software. A complete reload of the PC may be required.

Use current Anti-Virus software

Here at the City, we use F-Prot for our anti-virus protection. Any anti-virus software requires periodic updates of the virus definition files to remain up to speed with the latest viruses. It is important that you perform all updates when requested.

Remove Misrosoft Scripting Host

Many e-mail viruses use Visual Basic Scripting to do their work. Following these few basic steps will permanently immunize your PC from these specific types of attacks. The steps are different for each operating system. Find the Operating System that you use in the list below and click on it. Then follow the instructions very carefully.

Windows 95
Windows 98
Windows 2000
WindowsNT 4.0

 


info@loganutah.org